


The War to the Endgame

by MegaFrost4



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: AU, Angst, Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Forgiveness, M/M, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Pre-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Second Chances, Superfamily (Marvel)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-02
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-14 16:07:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 31
Words: 27,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29794434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MegaFrost4/pseuds/MegaFrost4
Summary: Everybody wants a happy ending, right? But it doesn't always roll that way...
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, Wanda Maximoff/Vision
Kudos: 8





	1. Chapter 1

Steve Rogers stared off over the lake, the sun setting on the worst day of his life.

Everyone had already trickled off, saying their goodbyes, not really sure when or where they will see each other again.

Given time, though, maybe...

Someone cleared their throat behind the soldier, who was ashamed that he almost jumped out of his skin, he was so scared. His heart racing, he turned around, then relaxed slightly.

Thor.

He was a good friend. He was always there.

"Steven..." The tormented god sniffed. He scratched his beard irritably. "I am not quite sure what to say, but..." He turned his gaze away from the lake, and forced Steve to meet his eyes. Steve stared into the real one, hardly even recognizing the robotic replacement. "Anthony, he..." His voice cracked, and Steve let the tears fall again, for the thousandth time this week.

No other words were said for what seemed like ages.

Steve was unaware Thor had wrapped an arm around his shoulders, pulling him to his side for comfort. Steve needed that. He needed to feel like he was still here.

Because...

"Thor..." Steve sobbed quietly. He buried his face into his friend's chest.

"I know..." Thor rested his head on top of Steve's. "...I know..."

* * *

"Pops?" Steve looked up from his sketchbook, then smiled softly.

"Hey, son...you all right?" He offered the other half of the couch, but was not surprised to have his part shared with the tiny figure of his son.

Peter Stark-Rogers shook his head. Tired, crying eyes studied the intricate details of the soldier's latest and hardest drawing of his late husband. He was not in his armor. He was not even in a suit. He was in the lab, showing off that brilliant mind of his to Peter.

"This is one of my favorite memories of us." Steve finally spoke up. Peter perked up the tiniest bit, interested as to why. "Your dad...he worked so hard every day for us..." Steve fought to keep his voice steady. "And he loved to show off." He hugged Peter a little tighter. "And you loved to help..."

Peter sniffed. "You know what my favorite memory is?"

"What's that, son?"

"The day we all became a family."

Steve kissed his forehead, and they hugged.

On through the night, they shared stories, mostly the good ones, until the sun came up. Steve realized he had been talking to himself when Peter was fast asleep in his arms, but one of the boy's hands rested on the sketch of his father's arc reactor.

"You're going to be ok..." Steve promised.


	2. Chapter 2

Tony nervously looked to Rhodey before shooting off a little faster across the German sky. He could see the airport, and he could see _him_. His stomach twisted in knots as he roughly landed in front of the unsuspecting captain.

"Wow, it's so weird how you run into people at the airport." He rattled off sarcastically to Rhodey, who landed not two seconds after him. "Don't you think that's weird?" He turned his face to his friend, helmet now showing off that painful shiner.

He could almost feel the wince Steve gave, remembering what happened earlier when Bucky lost it for a second.

_It's not his fault..._

"Here me out, Tony..."

Tony barely acknowledged him, but Steve continued.

"That scientist...you can't trust him, Tony, he's behind all of this...I-" Steve was interrupted by the Black Panther. If it were not for the metal claws and railing he had jumped over, he would have never heard him coming behind him.

"Captain." The man tensely greeted.

"Your highness." Steve remembered the threat he made on Bucky. And Steve did not like that very much.

"Ross gave me 36 hours to bring you in..." Tony cut right to the chase, not even listening to Steve, who was trying to plead his case. "That was 24 hours ago..."

Time's up.

"Will you just listen to me, _please?_ " Steve was getting ramped up again. "There are five more confirmed just like him. I can't let that man find him, I just can't..."

"And when did you suddenly become an expert?" Tony shot back. "Your judgment is askewed. Your old war buddy killed innocent people yesterday alone...and you won't admit that."

"Steve..." The man cut his eyes to the other side of him to find Natasha. "You know what's about to happen...do you really wanna punch your way out of this one?"

Steve stared at her. He cannot get them to understand why he must not give in.

_Why won't you listen?_

"All right, I've run out of patience, I-" Tony was cut off by thick web wrapped around his hands. Steve found himself in the same position, shield yanked out of his grip.

Spider-Man landed gracefully in between the two feuding sides. "Hey everybody..." A shaky voice greeted them.

Everyone was stunned.

"What the _hell_ are you doing here?" Tony snapped.

Peter Stark-Rogers' grip on the shield tightened as he stood up. His stomach was flipping, he was so nervous.

"Peter..." Steve shook his head. "You shouldn't be here right now..."

"I have no choice!" Peter shouted. His breathing was quickening. "Because you two just can't stop arguing! Can we please just go back to Mr. Ross and just figure this out..." He yanked his mask off, and it broke both men's hearts to see the tear-stained face. "Pops...please...let's just go home with Dad and we can fix this..."

Steve looked heartbroken...how could he have pushed it this far? Was he not doing the right thing? He looked over to Tony, who was fuming at this point. He did not want Peter to get involved in this. And rightfully so...because he realized he could not get out of this by talking anymore...

"You see that?" Tony turned his attention back to Steve. "You've been a complete _idiot_...dragging Clint from his own family, _rescuing_ Wanda from a place she doesn't even want to leave, a _safe_ place, going behind _our_ backs to protect a wanted criminal...I'm trying..." Tony huffed. "I'm trying to keep you from tearing the Avengers apart..."

"You did that when you signed..." Steve shoulders slumped slightly.

Tony fumed. "All right, I'm done...You're going to turn Barnes over, and you're going to come with us, _now_ , because it's _us_ , just a band of misfits you _used_ to call _family_!"

Steve bowed his head. He glanced over to Natasha, who gave him a pleading look, then to Peter, who was fidgeting with his shield nervously.

"Come on..." Tony begged.

Steve took a deep breath, and ripped the webbing apart a little too easily.

* * *

"Uh...Dad?"

Tony worriedly looked over after the skirmish took a brief pause. His blood was boiling, but he was scared for his son.

Both sides of the disagreement were marching towards each other.

"They're not stopping..." Peter panicked.

"Neither are we!" Rhodey snarled.

"Peter...just like we discussed. Just stay back and web them up ok, just keep the fighting to an absolute minimum, you promise me?"

"...ok, Dad..." Peter curled and uncurled his fingers in anticipation. He could not even look ahead of him, because his Pops was right there, and he could not stand it. Why did they have to fight?

And fight they all did.

Peter just stayed off to the side, going off to try to web up Barnes. But when Barnes threw a punch, thankfully Peter managed to catch it with ease. Thank heaven for the Peter Tingle!

Peter did a double take. "You have a metal arm?!" Bucky blinked in shock. "That is awesome dude!" He found himself being flown off by Sam.

"Pete! What are you doing here, man? Shouldn't you be in school?" Sam asked.

"Uh..." Peter flung himself away, free-falled for a second, and shot a web out. "Spontaneous field trip with Dad!"

"Uh-huh... _sure_." Sam shook his head. "I think-" The Black Panther knocked him down, cutting off their conversation.

Peter saw his Pops running towards the Quinjet, and went to intercept him. Shooting a web out, he knocked him over.

Steve shot up, completely thrown off, literally. "Peter?! What are you doing?"

"Dad said to go for your legs...now I know why." Peter ducked as a tire flew over their heads.

"What else did he say?" Steve did not really want to know, but...

"That you're wrong...but you think you're right...despite good intentions..."

"Son..."

"Pops, listen to me." Peter pulled his mask off again. "Just stop. fighting... _please_...I want to go home...I want _us_ to go home..." He was crying, and Steve hated that more than anything, especially since he himself was the cause of it.

"Peter!"

They both heard Tony's shout as he roughly landed next to Peter. The helmet came back again, a cut above his eye where that shiner was becoming purple. It looked so painful.

"Tony, please..."

"Don't..." Tony put himself protectively in front of Peter. "You don't get to lecture me today...You wanna get to that Quinjet? You wanna help that delusioned murderer? You're going to have to get through me. Because it's clear you don't give a damn about me, but I want you to look him in the eyes when you do it..." He pointed to Peter, who was helpless.

Steve was stuck. What was he supposed to do? His best friend needed him.

_What about my family?_

"I'm sorry, honey..."

* * *

Tony tore his eyes away from the fuzzy screen, and it took everything he had to not blow the place to smithereens so Barnes could get what he deserved.

To his shock, Steve did not say anything...but just looked at him, like he was waiting for something.

"Did you know?" It was barely above a whisper.

"Tony, I-"

" _Don't bullshit me, Rogers, did...you...know_?" Tears welled up in his eyes.

"...Yes."

Tony jumped back as if he got burnt, a pained look on his face. He could barely register sound as he was sure Steve was trying to explain himself, for _lying_ to him, after all this time, but to _lie again to his face..._

White noise was all he heard.

Then his fist flung out, helmet down, and he was ready for another round.

Blind, hot rage fueled him as he was clawing for Barnes, and how _dare_ Steve get in his way again.

"Stay out of my way!" Tony tried to incapacitate him, not hurt him. Deep down, he still loved him.

Even though he was a liar...

"Tony! Stop! He didn't do anything wrong! It wasn't his fault!"

They kept fighting. Well, Tony kept attacking Barnes, who sometimes fought back, but Steve tried his best to prevent anyone from seriously hurting each other.

"Bucky! No!" Steve was horrified to see Bucky go for the arc reactor. He pulled him off, pinning Tony to the wall. "Tony! Listen to me! You know I wouldn't do this if I had any other choice...but he's my friend..."

Tony stiffened, taking in a sharp breath. He pulled his mask back. "...so was I..."

The fighting got more dirty, more scary.

Bucky Barnes tapped out when Tony shot his metal arm off and he collapsed onto the ground in sobs. Steve went off, blocking every blow Tony made to him. Tony was furious. They had ganged up on him, two on one earlier, with him down on his knees. He almost had them, but it was not a fair fight.

And it never will be.

Tony lunged forward and fired with both gauntlets as much fire power to burn that shield, that symbol of hope.

All lies.

He could not get FRIDAY to analyze his fight patterns fast enough. _Damn, he's good._

His world of vision filled with stars after Steve threw him to the ground, head banging into concrete. He grabbed Tony's helmet, yanking it back so hard to reveal a terrified Tony Stark.

That made him stop.

Steve stared down on his husband, and started to sob.

"What are you waiting for? FINISH IT!"

Steve raised his shield high, and Tony raised his hands to cover his face. He almost screamed in pain when vibranium shoved the arc reactor into his chest.

But he resisted.

He stared at that shield, panting...

And then Steve had the nerve to pull it out, and it hurt so bad. He went to pick up his _real_ friend, who was so out of it.

"That shield doesn't belong to you! It belonged to my father! You don't deserve it!" Tony called after him.

Steve paused for a second, did not even turn around, and dropped the shield.

"Steve...please...don't do all of this for me. I'm not worth it..." Bucky tried to shove away, but was too weak. "He's your _husband_ , for God's sake! And think of your son! Is this all really necessary?"

Steve did not say anything, but just kept limping away.

Tony spat blood onto the shield, then laid back down in defeat.


	3. Chapter 3

Peter briefly let go of his father so he could open the door to the compound. He was so relieved to be back home. Like father, like son, they _hated_ hospitals.

" _Welcome home, gentlemen..._ " FRIDAY greeted. " _I would like to inform you that the physical therapists are ready to set up Colonel Rhodes' equipment in the small private gym downstairs. I told them I wanted to get the confirmation from you first-_ "

"Yeah, that's fine, FRIDAY, go ahead and call 'em in..." Tony waved her off, not really caring anymore. He cared for his best friend, but Rhodey was not quite top priority right now..."You ok, Pete? I can have FRIDAY order us some pizza. Hospital food is just the worst."

"Oh, please!" Peter smiled a little at the hopes of something good. "With breadsticks and pasta and-"

"Ok, partner, slow down...it's just us two, since Vision doesn't eat."

"...right...sorry..." Peter sighed.

"Hey, no, don't do that. You're fine." Tony hugged him and kissed his head. "Why don't you go clean up? You reek of chemicals and sadness."

"Thanks, Dad..." That got a sarcastic eye roll and laugh out of the teenager. He took the stairs up to his room to freshen up.

Tony almost, _almost_ went to the hidden liquor cabinet, when Vision suddenly appeared in the lobby of the compound.

"Mr. Stark. It is good to see you home again. How are you healing?" Vision was dressed in his blazer, an armful of books placed neatly on the table. Tony could never understand Vision's fascination with physical books when the Internet was at his disposal. He was informed that the AI appreciated the simple things that humans enjoyed.

And Wanda loved to read.

"I still feel like I got hit by a truck." Which he did...several of them during the fight, along with an unprecedented amount of punches from two pissy super soldiers.

"Would you like for me to pick up your prescriptions? I've already asked FRIDAY, who said they should be ready at any moment."

"No thanks, pal. I'm just going to take a long shower till the pizza gets here."

"Peter loves pizza." Vision smiled knowingly.

"It's his favorite." Tony returned the expression. "Oh! And the guys from PT are bringing Rhodey in to set up his stuff, so could you be a host for me and show them where to go?"

"Of course." Vision bowed his head, then went to pick up his books to put away before the guests arrived.

Tony swayed down the hallway, suddenly feeling light-headed. Probably from not eating much, but who is there to lecture him?

_Steve would have none of that, Stark._

He shoved himself into the shower, as hot as he could stand it, so no one could hear his cries.

What had he done?

* * *

Vision suggested after dinner they all watch a Star Wars movie. He deduced that distracting them with their favorite past time was good for morale at the moment since they had just gotten home after this horrific tragedy they all just went through. He knew it would take much time to heal and get back to some form of normal, but every little thing counts.

Peter was all for it, and Tony was eager because it made Peter happy. Of course, not an hour into the movie, Tony was snoring so loud, Peter did not have the heart to tell FRIDAY to turn it up any louder, lest the neighbors miles from them would start to voice complaints.

So, Peter took that time to catch up with his friend Ned via text while talking to Vision.

Peter enjoyed his company, as he could tell him anything and not get scared of any judgment or outbursts. Vision always kept his cool, and gave the best advice.

"Wanna play chess?" Peter asked.

"I would like that very much." Vision got up to get the board.

"Oh, and you don't have to go easy on me...I'm pretty sure I can beat you on my own."

"We'll see...ah! Look who it is." Vision went to shake Rhodey's hand.

"Uncle Rhodey!" Peter hugged him tightly, much to Rhodey's dismay and pleasure.

"How's it going, kid? Vision. Where's your Dad?" He looked a little worried.

"Passed out on the couch. We were watching Star Wars, don't tell him I said this, but since he's kinda old and all..."

"Hahaaaa...I'll never let him hear the end of it." Rhodey laughed. He was then relieved to hear his friend was at least trying to stay social, much better than the alternative of locking himself inside the lab for who knows how long.

"You hungry? FRIDAY ordered a ton of pizza, and I could use a snack."

"I will never understand how much that kid eats." Rhodey told Vision.

"He's an adolescent...even I don't understand teenagers..." Vision shook his head.

After finishing off the last of the pizza, they heard Tony whine in the kitchen trying to find leftovers.

"You snooze, you lose!" Peter and Rhodey chimed.

"You're lucky I'm a billionaire...FRIDAY, order me another round of specials."

" _On its way, Boss..._ "

The rest of the night, no one dared bring up anything that had happened in the past. Peter just talked about school and this huge trip he was really excited about. Rhodey was getting restless as the night grew on, and Tony gave Vision permission to go pick up both of their medications.

It was a long road to recovery, but little did they know, the war was far from over...


	4. Chapter 4

Captain America nodded a confirmation to his friend that he would be right back, and easily broke into the Raft, despite the huge storm that would not let up. Bucky assured him the Quinjet would be fine, if he just hurried. It was hard enough trying to co-pilot one armed, much less guard it, if anyone would happen to show up.

There were not that many guards, to Steve's relief.

He was done fighting.

The power went out, and the prisoners...his friends, were alerted of something strange going on.

"What the hell?" Clint got up and peered around the room as best he could with his limited vision in his cell.

Scott stopped playing the acoustics with his cold, hard bench.

Sam looked out, and a smirk crept onto his face.

Steve stepped forward, grinning mischievously.

"Took you long enough..." Sam joked, but pulled him into a hug.

"Wanda?" Steve saw the poor girl in a straight jacket and some sort of shock collar on her. She was just staring out into nothing, a blank look hiding her pain. "Come on out, it's ok. I'm getting you out of here." Steve knelt down in front of her. He held his hands in surrender so as not to scare her.

Wanda finally looked at him, and all of her emotions flooded back to her. She missed Vision, and she just wanted to go home. She let Steve free her from the jacket, but the collar was still on her.

"I...I-I don't know..."

"It's ok..." Steve assured her. "Sam?"

"Uh...don't look at me, I'm no scientist." Sam backed off, eyes searching everywhere for more guards, but thankfully none came.

"Let me have a look." Scott offered up his help. "Hey there." Scott smiled shyly. "Ok...uh...hey Cap, you came with the Quinjet, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"There's probably some tools in there I can use, but I can't do it right now. Maybe if I had my suit..." He looked dejectedly down at his prison uniform.

"All right...let's go then..." Steve led the way back out into the storm, Bucky waiting anxiously for them.

"Another minute, and I was about to go in there after your punk ass again." Bucky jeered.

"We have a little situation, but it's being handled." Steve strapped himself in, and then made sure everyone else was fine. He took one last weary look to make sure no one was coming, then turned back forward. "Ok."

* * *

Wanda let out a huge sigh and rubbed her neck as Scott cheered when he finally got the collar off. She immediately used her powers to mash it up into a tight ball.

"Thank-you, Scott."

"No problem." He settled back into his seat. "Guys, I don't mean to be _that_ person, but I'm hungry."

Clint nodded his agreement, then got up and started searching. "Every Quinjet always has an emergency pack somewhere. It'll hold us over till...uh...well, we can't just drive thru..."

They all realized that they were officially on the run from the law and had nowhere to go.

Steve knew he should have thought this through a little more...but it had been a long day.

_That shield doesn't belong to you! You don't deserve it!_

He could not fight the tears, and if Bucky saw it, well, he did not say anything, but just kept his eyes on the clouds.

Once eaten, and nerves died down after the escape, Steve finally had an idea.

"Ok...listen up. I think I know where our first stop is."

"McDonald's?" Clint hoped.

Steve laughed. "We'll find some food, I promise. We're going to see T'Challa."

Everyone froze.

"The crazy Cat Man?" Scott asked. "Um...wasn't he fighting against us?"

"He sent me a message, saying that he owes us all big time after the...misunderstanding..." His eyes cut to Bucky, who let out a deep breath he did not know he was holding. "We can get Bucky some help, and hopefully fuel up and get some supplies."

"I'm all about some local cuisine." Clint frowned as he gnawed on a nasty protein bar that was probably three years old.

"And after that?" Wanda finally asked. Everyone was wondering, but did not want to think about their predicament.

Steve paused. "We're going to take this one day at a time..."

He hated that was all he could give him...

* * *

"Captain..." T'Challa greeted as everyone walked into the fresh air of Wakanda. "If you will all please come inside, we'll get started."

Bucky looked nervous amidst everyone oohing and awing over this amazing place.

After Bucky was put back under into his cryo-sleep to heal, much to Steve's dismay, everyone was invited to a private dinner hosted by T'Challa and his mother.

"We appreciate the hospitality, but I don't wanna impose. It's bad enough you're helping us out, knowing we're breaking the law."

"Captain, I can assure you, your friend will be perfectly safe."

"I hate to say it, but you might be met with some hostiles once they find out we escaped."

T'Challa walked up to his window to see the sun set. "Let them try..."


	5. Chapter 5

Vision knew about it before Tony got the call from Ross. He was tormented as to what he should do:

Should he report them?

Should he try to find them and help?

Should he just bring Wanda back here to try to do what they tried earlier?

He thought the best thing for him to do was distract himself, as he did not want to be around when Tony was on the phone. Perhaps Dummy needed someone to talk with...

Tony's stare at the digital clock above the TV was interrupted by the phone ringing.

" _Sir, you have a call from Secretary Ross..._ "

Tony groaned. This was not what he needed right now.

Has that man not bothered him enough?

"Hi, I was almost worried you had remembered this number, and thus my fears came true." Tony answered.

" _We have a situation, Stark..._ " Ross sounded even more distressed than normal. " _Seems your husband has rounded up his band of misfits and-_ "

"Uh, please hold!" Tony cut in.

" _Nooooo...Noooo...Do-_ " Tony was never more satisfied hanging up on someone since that stupid Senator.

It was all short-lived, though, as he began to panic.

"Steve, you just can't leave it be, can you?" He was still angry with him, that was going to take a while to get over. But the dread of what he will now be facing if he tries to come back to the States...did he want to talk?

Tony felt like he was going to throw up.

Not six months ago, they were perfectly fine, just minding their own business...then the Accords had to show up.

And it ruined their lives...

If Tony and Steve could have just sat down and talked with each other about it more with everyone and had gotten Barnes committed... _so he could be treated..._

There would have never been a fight.

Hell, Tony was pretty sure he could pull some strings, and get a couple of details ratified to make peace with everyone on the team.

The team...

Felt almost non-existent...worse off than when Thor and Bruce ventured off into the unknown for those, what, Infinity Stones, Thor called them.

Tony needed to lie down, there was just too much going on.

He did not even realize Peter had charged in from school, jabbering on about something and Vision sneaking out back.

* * *

Vision concentrated hard as he flew across the sky, high enough above the clouds to not distract any potential interferences. He had decided to follow his metaphorical heart and go after Wanda. He missed her, and hated the idea of her being off on her own.

Mr. Stark would be fine.

FRIDAY assured him that he would be taken care of.

And he had Peter.

Logically, he was not really needed for anything other than an uncomfortable amount of small talk here and there.

Tony had only snapped at him a couple times, then even apologized one other time about the predicament he agreed to putting Vision's girlfriend into.

Vision never took it personally. He was not human, so he had the luxury of not having emotions steer away from the facts.

As he soared across the Atlantic towards Africa, he thought back on his short life, and what all had happened.

Not a lot of good things...

But the few that were...

Wanda was his world. She made him happy, if that was even possible for a thing such as him. He never considered himself to be a person. However, _she_ made him act like he could actually feel things. It was certainly pleasing to be around her...to talk with her...to try to cook with her...

If he could just get everyone to listen to reason, maybe they could all be given second chances under these new Accords.

Now the hard part was not finding them...it was convincing everyone...

Because the first round of tries did not go so well.

Nobody won that fight.

The closer he got, the more he could _feel_ Wanda's presence. The Mind Stone was a funny thing...so complex, he could not understand it. It gave birth to him, gave Wanda her powers, and had some nasty abilities to control people to do awful things in the past. He wondered if the Stone really was drawn to her, like she needed it to thrive. Maybe, he laughed to himself, that they really were meant to be...

Vision found himself on the shores of a beach unknown to him, since it was technically not part of a country on a map. Something seemed...off about it...

He scanned the area, finding there was a force field, stronger than he had ever known of one to be. Wanda's presence was practically screaming for him, and he continued to pace around the dome trying to find her.

"Vis?"

He froze, and turned around. Was it possible for a being such as himself to hallucinate? Or dream?

Because right there, in front of him, was her. Was she standing there in front of him just now?

"Wanda? Is that you?"

The girl gave that shy smile that Vision adored. "In the flesh...what are you doing here?"

"I came to see you...when I had heard what happened, I...had to make sure you were all right..."

"What about Stark?" She frowned, her eyes glowing red for a second.

"What about him? I can assure you he has no idea I am here..." Vision looked at the force field again. "Where is here, anyway?"

Wanda smiled, taking his hand, and pulled him into a kiss. "Follow me."


	6. Chapter 6

"Hey, you seen Vision?" Tony asked Peter, who shook his head, mouth full of chips and queso. He checked his phone again, then tossed it onto the counter. "He turned off his transponder...I thought he was just going out and exploring like he always does, but..." Tony's eyes went wide.

"What is it?" Peter finally managed to talk.

_He's going after them..._

Why _do I always feel like I am stuck between a rock and hard place?_

"Nothing you need to worry about." Tony dismissed, taking a chip for himself.

Peter shoved the barstool back a little too hard, the loud crash echoing in the empty home. "It's about Pops, isn't it?" Tony froze, trying to remember what Steve had told him about listening and letting people speak and getting all of their frustrations out and-

_Why is it every time there is a problem, I want to turn to you? Because you're never here anymore..._

"Was all of this worth it?" Peter cried. "Your cut still hasn't healed, neither has your shoulder, you have a limp, and I know your chest bothers you like crazy! _Dad_..." Peter tried to steady his breathing. "What happened to you two?" Peter looked worse in that moment than Tony had ever felt in his entire life.

Tony's tense body hurt every part of him that was trying to heal. Tears were fighting to pour out, but he shoved it back down for his son. Because he did not need to see his father so pathetic and weak. He had already screwed up enough as is.

"Look..." Tony did not want to relive that moment, but Peter deserved to know the truth. "He...your Pops, uh...his old war buddy did some _very_ bad things. He was a dangerous man...mind control, super soldier stuff, all that...and, well...he killed your grandparents..."

Peter's bottom lip trembled. He never got to meet them, but just knew from casual observations that his father had complicated relationships with them.

"B-but..." Peter shook his head, trying to convince Tony what Steve was trying to convince him of...

_He is so much more like you, Steve...you were wrong. He is so good and pure..._

"He was _mind-controlled,_ Dad...so...I am sure he didn't want to...he seemed very sad in Germany."

Tony cried. He could not hold it in any more. He slumped into a bar stool, his hands shaking. "I know..." He choked out. "I know...but...I just let my _stupid_ emotions get the best of me...that bastard was trying to tear us apart, and I let him, instead of just _listening,_ I-" Tony kept babbling on and on about nonsense as Peter came over and pulled his Dad into a hug.

Now, more than ever, he really needed Pops home...because Tony _needed_ him...

* * *

Vision was impressed by humanity, once again. As they were led through the plains inside the dome, he took in his surroundings, seeing a simple village turn into a city from the future, it seemed. He would very much like to explore here, if and when this all gets resolved.

Wanda squeezed his hand a little, just to remind him that she was still here. She playfully bumped his shoulder, and he reached with his other hand to brush a piece of loose hair out of her face.

They arrived in what he assumed was the palace, and as they went off to the side for the guest quarters, Vision noticed something.

"Wanda?"

"Yes?" She tilted her head in curiosity.

"Did you... _call_ me here?"

"What do you mean? I don't have a phone, and neither do you..."

Vision was secretly told otherwise, his suspicions about the Stone slowly revealing itself to be true.

"Vision...what a surprise..." Clint put down his blade and hopped up from a couch.

Scott and Sam warily said hello.

"You're not here to arrest us, are you?" Sam questioned.

"I am not here for anything that has to do with the Accords...or should I say...I'm not here to implement them. Seems to me, your whereabouts are not known to be in this country, therefore, I see no need to confirm my findings that you were here."

Sam accepted that answer with relief.

Vision realized that these Accords need another look at, and maybe someone besides Ross can come to their side. A compromise had to be made, otherwise...

If something big weas coming, they would fall...as they were divided.

Steve came around the corner, head down and unaware of their new addition to the group.

"Is everyone settling in-" He froze in terror, his jaw clenching. He twitched for his shield, then remembered it was not there anymore...

"Captain Rogers." Vision nodded. "I can assure you I bear no ill will, and I am just here for, well..." He fingered through Wanda's hand, who looked to Steve, begging not to fight.

Steve did not say anything. He cut his eyes to the window.

"He's not here."

Steve looked at him, tears welling up.

"He does not know I'm here..." Vision tried to reassure him.

He nodded, trying to tell himself that it was ok. They were all ok.

_Who am I kidding? We are far from ok._

The man suddenly pivoted and disappeared from the room.


	7. Chapter 7

Steve's chest hurt from the pounding and sweat starting to form all over as he found himself in an empty office down the hall of their temporary living quarters.

His breathing becoming more erratic, he tore the desk apart trying to find a pen and paper.

A knock startled him, and Vision phased through the door.

"Captain...are you all right?" Vision observed the mess left by the soldier. Papers and office supplies were strung about.

Steve wiped his brow and avoided eye contact.

Vision patiently waited.

"...I messed up..." Steve finally looked up, and found the android on one knee right in front of him. His look of empathy made Steve uncomfortable. "I...I never meant for this to get so out of hand, I was just trying to save my friend. He's innocent, he was a victim of HYDRA. He would've never killed To-" Steve choked on his words, and the tears fell again. "I never wanted to hurt him..."

Vision placed a calming hand over Steve's shaky one. He picked up the pen and handed it to him.

"I know."

After a few more minutes, Steve spoke up again. "It's better this way...me never seeing him again. If you could've seen the way he looked at me, after...after I had lied to him again...Vision, I don't deserve him..."

Vision saw Steve's remorse, and he looked to be a scared child who had run away from home, realizing he can never go back. But that was far from the truth.

"No...not at all." Vision disagreed. "You humans are a complicated species...so full of emotions that make you who you are. I understand that it is within your nature to lash out when threatened or confused. And it's all right, because now...we can work on forgiveness." Vision sighed. "If you knew how much he misses you...he regrets everything as well."

"He does?" Steve looked almost hopeful, but scared to grab onto it.

"I have never seen him so miserable in all the years I have known him."

Steve was unsure if it was possible, but he could have sworn that was JARVIS speaking to him just now. And he had no doubt but to believe the one that had been with Tony longer than he himself was.

It had only been four years. Four years of happiness, adventure, fighting, and loving. Life was a roller coaster in the 21st century. But Tony Stark made it worth it. Steve recalled all of the times Tony was so patient with him, even before they had started dating.

_How could I have betrayed him?_

_How could I have broken his trust and hurt him?_

"Well, I will leave you to it, and I will make sure it is personally delivered back to Mr. Stark." He got up to give the man some privacy.

Steve stared at the blank piece of paper, unsure of how to even begin. There was so much he wanted to say...so much that needed to be said. With a shaky hand, he placed the pen at the top and began pouring his heart out.

* * *

Tony made up his mind that Vision was not coming back. Ross kept blowing up his phone, but FRIDAY figured to stop asking and just direct the call straight to voicemail.

He tried to keep himself busy, spending some quality time with Peter, who was giving it his all to be back to normal again. Tony never said no to sleepovers, or night outs with his group of friends from school. He just made sure Peter always had his suit just in case. Of course, Karen was always there in his phone now along with the suit to give Tony a peace of mind.

He decided to keep himself busy, drowning in his work, completing projects he had put off from lack of time due to... _distractions_ , and was actually happy to be back doing what he loved.

One day, he began experimenting with some new substances when FRIDAY urged him to come see Colonel Rhodes.

Tony bolted out of the lab down into the private gym, and he could not believe his eyes.

Rhodey was walking!

The braces he made for his friend worked!

The two physical therapists were very pleased with the Colonel's progress. Tony teared up a little as he seemed to feel every step his friend made.

Rhodey collapsed out of breath.

"I'll be expecting that marathon next week." Tony quipped.

"Screw you, Tony." Rhodey laughed.

"Thanks guys, why don't you take the rest of the day off? I need some Rhodey time."

They left for an early weekend as Tony helped his friend to the elevator so they could relax.

A knock on the door brought there attention to none other than Vision.

"Son of a bitch, where have _you_ been?" Tony knew, but he was getting riled up again.

Vision came forward with an envelope. "I think it's time we come to terms with each other."

* * *

Late that night, Tony kept eyeing the envelope like it was about to explode. He mentally kicked himself for being this afraid.

Forcing himself, he began to read the neatly written letter:

_Tony,_

_I'm glad you and Peter are back at the compound. I don't like the idea of you rattling around a mansion or tower by yourself. We all need family. The Avengers are yours - maybe more so than mine._

_I've been on my own since I was eighteen. I never really fit in anywhere, even in the army. You gave me a home when I barely knew you, and we kinda started something really special..._

_I know I hurt you, honey. I guess I thought by not telling you about your parents I was sparing you, but...I can see now that I was really sparing myself. And I'm sorry. Hopefully one day you can understand._

_I know you're doing what you believe in, what is best for you and Peter. That's all any of us can do - it's all any of us should do._

_Please tell him I am sorry, and I love him and I miss him so much. This was not his fault, nobody blames him for any of this. I am sorry I dragged him down into my mistakes. He's a good kid, and he reminds me so much of you. Always so thoughtful of others and their needs, always looking out for the little guy._

_Tony, I want you to know that what I did I know was wrong. I never wanted to hurt you. I was just trying to save my friend from HYDRA. I know I should have come to you sooner and been honest and up front with you as soon as I found out. Please, if you can ever find it in your heart to forgive me, because I love you so much and I hate myself for ever tarnishing your love._

_No matter what, this is my promise to you and to Peter. If you need us - if you need me - I'll be there._

_Always yours,_

_Steve_

Tony could barely contain himself. He had no idea how much time had passed, but when he saw the sun come up, a newfound determination set in, and he took a shower and composed himself.

"FRIDAY, get the Mark XLVII ready."

" _Yes, Boss._ "


	8. Chapter 8

"Dad!" Peter screamed as Tony was about to take off.

The new suit's helmet peeled back. "Hey, Pete...uh...I'm just going to, uh...take a test run. Won't be long."

"Are you bringing him home?" Peter asked with those huge puppy dog eyes that was the spitting image of Steve Rogers, Tony could not stand it.

"I'm going to try..." Tony gave a sad smile, and Peter leaped up onto the platform and gave him a hug. Metal arms hugged him back gently. "Be back soon, ok? Be sure Rhodey goes for a walk, don't forget to feed him, and-"

"Dad..." Peter laughed. "You know I meant I have always wanted a _real_ dog, right?"

"This one doesn't cause allergies...unless you're allergic to sarcasm, which I know for a fact you're not."

"Whatever, just be careful."

"I'm always careful." Tony winked at him. The helmet went back on, and with a nod, Iron Man was off.

* * *

" _Boss, I hate to remind you again, but we are at 32% power, and I don't think-_ "

Tony was breathing heavy, either from exhaustion, panic, or sheer terror for what he was about to do, he was not sure. Probably all of the above. Flying across the Atlantic was scarier than he had anticipated. He knew he should have just hopped onto the jet, but his pilots were on vacation, one was sick...it was just too much of a hassle, and he knew he was forgetting something important because he needed to install FRIDAY into his private private jet.

_Ok, I'll admit, I'm being very reckless right now._

"Punch it harder, then, we're almost to shore." Power levels increased, and he felt like that tree was running towards him just as fast as he was and he could have sworn that tree was out to get him because damn, that hurt!

" _Boss...wake up! You have arrived on the border of Wakanda. I have already taken the liberty of calling King T'Challa and he has graciously accepted your unexpected arrival, and will be here momentarily."_

Tony wondered what he would do without his trusty creations. He would definitely forget what day it was.

All of this was a blur.

He released himself from the suit, which, luckily did not seem to have any sort of damage minus a couple scratches on that awesome paint job. It was the small victories that really pepped him up.

Taking in the hot jungle air, Tony wondered what time it was. He checked his watch.

"Almost 4 a.m. great! Just in time for a cup of coffee and I can watch the sunrise."

"Mr. Stark."

Tony whipped around to find T'Challa with a couple fierce looking escorts. Why did his entourages never wear cool outfits like that?

"Sorry, I think I had a little misunderstanding with the tree, and I told him it was my fault because I'm a sarcastic, emotional asshole who doesn't know when to shut his mouth and listen. Nothing personal to him, he was just doing his job...being a tree...and, I'm sorry, where are my manners?" Tony shook T'Challa's hand, figuring that was about as formal as one could be a 4 a.m.

"Come, you must be exhausted from your journey. I believe the tree and you could take another calmer route to resolving your bumpy relationship."

"He quips?" Tony looked to the woman on his left, who winked at him.

"You have no idea." She laughed. "I'm Okoye, General and protector of the royal family."

"Tony Stark. Genius, billionaire, asshole, philanthropist. Also, Iron Man is my codename."

"Impressive...yet creepy..." Okoye turned around, eyeing the strange machine. "Does it always follow you like that?"

"Only when I need to talk to adults."

They kept chattering, Tony getting more and more outrageous as his nerves were getting the best of him because this was the reason he flew all the way here...right behind those doors...

"You are more than welcome to some refreshments we have provided for you in the lounge down the hall, since not everyone here is a morning person, from what I can tell." T'Challa offered.

"Except one stubborn ass..." Tony mumbled to himself. "Listen, uh, your highness, sorry, that came out weird, um...I wanted to give my condolences for your father, and I can assure you, if you need anything, which, come to think of it, maybe _I_ just need a tour of well...wait, I'm getting off topic, what I'm trying to say is...I'm really sorry about all of this. You were just an innocent bystander who got caught in the crossfire, and I just want you to know that I will do everything in my power to make this all right again, or as best we can make it again..."

T'Challa nodded solemnly then smiled. He took Tony's hand into both of his. "Thank-you, Tony Stark. Maybe we can get to know each other and live in peace."

They left Tony to coffee and these amazing pastries he had never seen before. And the best bacon in the world, is right here, in Wakanda. No contest.

And just like clockwork, at 5 a.m., Steve enters ravenous and not a clue in the world as to who was there.

"You are so predictable, it's adorable."

Steve jumped like he had been shot, and wide eyes tried to comprehend whether or not he was dreaming again.

"Tony?"

"Turns out, I do need you, Cap...I always have..."

Steve's fingers were attacking each other, as he tried to come up with what to say next.

"Before you say anything, I feel like I'm the one that needs to start." Tony jumped in. "I let my nerves get the best of me...the more I tried to keep us together, I kept demanding and just...I'm the one who tore us apart...because I wouldn't listen. And I know, because I ran that security footage through, and it was tampered with. He didn't bomb the UN meeting. He was _innocent_."

Steve's eyes welled up.

"Steve..." Tony fought the tears, but lost. "I'm so sorry...for not listening...for jumping to conclusions, for blaming you, for not understanding, for being a _jerk!_ I...I'm sorry for being _me..._ "

Steve's courage came back as he shushed Tony with a finger. "Don't you dare...don't ever apologize for being you...cause that's why I love you, sweetheart." Steve moved his hands to Tony's and kissed them. "I need to apologize for the exact same thing." He looked at him with those eyes, begging for forgiveness, and Tony _hated_ seeing those beautiful eyes hurt so much. "I was just focusing so much on Bucky that I pushed you away...and I-" Steve stared at the still present scar from their fight, and he noticed some extra padding underneath Tony's shirt...

_For protection...from me..._

"I'm so sorry I hurt you..." Steve let go of Tony and gave them some space. "I swear, I will never lay another hand on you again..."

Tony saw flashes of the fight, and he cringed at the memories of the pain and how it hurt to breathe, and the look on Steve's face.

"Tony?" He removed his own hands from covering his own chest out of a instinctive fear. "Can you ever forgive me? For hurting you..."

Steve was _on his knees_ , tears streaming down that beautiful jaw line.

"And lying to you..."

That was what Tony was waiting for. Honesty was very important to him. Too many people in his life were removed because they had lied to him all of those years. Obadiah was still a painful memory of losing someone close to him behind deceit.

Tony pulled Steve back up to his feet, and nodded his head shakily. "I do forgive you, Steve...if you will-"

"You know I do." Steve wanted to comfort him, but was afraid touch was not something Tony wanted right now.

But Tony did. He suddenly embraced Steve in a hug, and Steve tried so hard to be gentle with him, now more than ever before. He inhaled the scent of sweaty brown hair, and tasted the salt of his own tears as they both stayed that way for a while.

"I still love you, too..." Tony whispered.


	9. Chapter 9

"Is it safe to come in?"

Tony and Steve opened up the hug a little, listening to the muffled sounds behind the door.

"Yeah, Legolas, World War Three is still canceled." Tony called.

There was a pause. "No, I mean...are you two _decent_?"

"What the hell, we are in a _public domain_ that isn't mine, of course we are. I have manners."

"...that's not how it was in Fiji..."

"Barton, get your ass in here!" Tony rolled his eyes, and when they came round again, he could see Steve blushing.

"I will never forgive you for that as long as I live." Clint came in, head down, straight to the breakfast table, straight for Tony's bacon.

"I was being generous, I offered to make it a threesome."

"Can we change the subject, please?" Sam regretted the moment he came in. "We may all be ok, but I didn't sign up for no Alabama family shit."

"I am offended."

"Clint, you're from _Iowa_...that's up north." Tony corrected.

"I have a farm."

"We know, it's...nice." Tony tried to come up with a compliment. He hated farms...too much work with no tech. No wonder he had a "bird brain"...

"But, we are all ok, right?" Wanda asked the room, her eyes hovering at Tony.

Tony spoke up. "Yes. We are. Everything is going to be fine. I'm going to get you back home, if you want, and I promise I am going to be working with the UN to see if we can make some changes that will benefit _all_ of us. But first, we need to decide what those need to be...as a team."

"I can see things are already looking up for the better." Vision said.

"Yeah, well, we may be ok, but we got a lot of people to convince." Sam pointed out.

"Which means, we need to be on our best behavior from here on out." Steve said. "I think we should stay low, out of the limelight for a while, until we can resolve this the right way...the way we should have done it all along."

"Here here!" Clint raised a glass of juice. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm starving."

"Clint, you keep eating like that, and we'll have to bench you."

"Can it, Stark."

Vision liked what he was seeing. Perhaps this squabble amongst each other was not enough to dismantle the team, but to maybe strengthen them in the end.

* * *

Peter was concerned. What has been taking them so long?

A week went by, and there was still no Dad...no Pops...

A text and late night call with updates from FRIDAY were not enough. He felt like he needed to be there to make sure they stay together. Because he failed the first time.

"I wish there was something I could do." Peter thought to himself, sitting on the rooftop of the compound, waiting to hear that hum of the Iron Man suit.

Instead, he felt electricity shoot through his entire body, and he flipped up and back into a tree, poised and ready to strike.

"I can see our sessions are starting to pay off." A cool voice came and sat on the edge of the building.

"Aunt Nat!" Peter hopped back over and gave her a hug. "Where have you been? Did you cut your hair?"

"Slow down, I'm all right. Just had to, well...I'm not supposed to be here."

"But...weren't you with us...I mean..."

"You know I have a reputation..." Her smile fell, and she combed her fingers through her short hair. "But I've been on the run before. I promise I'm ok." She nudged his shoulder. "I know you're waiting on them, and it's going to be a lot more complicated than just flying back."

"Yeah, I know..." Peter stared off into the night, still hoping for the opposite. "Do you think we'll be ok, though...sometime when all of this is resolved?"

Natasha gave him a look, thinking hard on what she was about to say. She remembered their first time meeting each other...she remembered all of their missions, both big and small...

After everything they had been through...

_"How are you guys planning on beating them?"_

_"Together."_

_"...and if we lose?"_

_"Then we'll do that together too."_

"We'll be ok." She wrapped an arm around the teenager. "I promise."


	10. Chapter 10

"All right, that's the third time you've yawned in an hour, I think it's time to call it." Natasha offered to help Peter up.

Peter shook his head. "I'm fine. You know, you actually yawn because there's not enough oxygen in the brain. It has nothing to do with being tired."

"Keep telling yourself that, kid." She gave him a look, but broke it right after with a smile. "Come on, let's give Rhodey some company at least. He can't follow you around much anymore."

"How do you know-nevermind." Peter shrugged it off. Because the fact of the matter is, if something is going on with someone, no matter how big or small, Natasha Romanoff _always finds out_.

"Done stargazing?" Rhodey paused the TV.

"It's past his bedtime." Natasha walked in like she had just taken a walk around the block.

Rhodey wanted to jump up, but instead, he just went into whiplash with his neck. "Nat? When the hell did you get here?"

"Off and on for a while." She opened the fridge and pulled out two beers. "Goodnight Peter."

"Night." A little mumble from the ceiling down the hall said before a bedroom door finally closed.

"You scare me sometimes, you know that?" Rhodey thanked her for the beer.

Natasha loved this, not scaring the boys, no, that was too easy. She loved being home. "I wish I could stay..." She thought out loud.

"I won't tell anybody...and we're supposed to get those Accords ratified."

"I thought there was something wrong when it's been quiet the past week."

"Yeah, trust me, I'm enjoying it. Tony's a handful..." Rhodey went serious. "...but he means well..."

"They both do..."

* * *

The guard wearily regarded the plate of food before taking it to the prisoner. Somedays, he really hated his job.

"Well." A voice echoed through the speaker of the enclosed glass. "Lunchtime already? I'm beginning to think you just don't want me to be lonely..."

The guard visibly shook, as he forced himself to put on a brave face. "Just eat your damn food." He half-heartedly threatened.

"Thank-you, mother." The man said as sincerely as possible. But the guard was already out the door and down the hall.

"Sir." He briskly nodded to his superior.

"Carry on." Everett Ross kept his pace. He entered the room with a smug look on his face.

"Back for more?" Helmut Zemo smirked.

"Always." Everett pulled a chair up and sat back, getting comfortable. "This is my favorite part of the day."

Zemo sniffed. "I have already told you everything."

"Not everything." Everett shook his head. "You still haven't given me what I need." Taking a sip of his coffee, he leaned forward, elbows keeping him steady over the table. "I need you to cross that line...so I can run you into the ground."

He cocked his head to the side in innocent mockery. " _Why_ are you this way to me? Everyone should be thanking me. I did what no other man or creature has done before...I ripped them apart...and I made them suffer for thinking they can just terrorize us and rule over us like mercenaries."

"You murdered a lot of people, some in pretty gruesome ways, from what my people are finding out. It's a never-ending scavenger hunt for them."

"I was ridding the world of _scum_...the Avengers were just my main target."

"Oh, this will make your day." Everett smiled. "You missed, _big time_."

"We have discussed this before."

"No, you misunderstand me...the Accords are getting ratified. I'm supposed to meet them all next week...all participating members since Germany."

Zemo's arrogant poise sank slightly, enough to satisfy Everett. But he would never give him the full satisfaction of being caught off guard. "Well, isn't that quite a turn of events...tell me, then...do you really think a couple months are enough to let bygones be bygones? Hm? Because, let me tell you something...wounds heal, but _scars...remain..._ "

"Nothing happens overnight, not even your elaborate plan. Oh, and Colonel Rhodes is back on his feet, literally, and Sergeant Barnes is getting the treatment he needs to, they say, make a _full recovery_."

"If you are trying to kick me while I'm down, by all means, just get in here."

"Oh no. This is much more entertaining."

"Since it's just the two of us and that camera, I will say I give my upmost respect to you. Many men are quite easy to crack. Even false gods can bleed."

"I will take that compliment. Believe me, I'm as stubborn as you are..."


	11. Chapter 11

The massive jet landed on the shores of the United States, and of course, Senator Ross was there to greet them.

That man just did not know when to quit.

"Mr. Stark, I hope you know how serious I am about this." He gave a stern look to Steve, who returned the stare with a polite nod of acknowledgement. "You have some nerve coming here, soldier..."

"All right, we're not here for that." Tony Stark turned on his media stance, ready to chew Ross up and spit him out without him ever knowing. "You really don't want to get my lawyers involved with you over harassment charges." He flashed his wedding ring and his watch that contained the gauntlet.

Ross fumed, but addressed the group without looking away from Steve for one second. "My apologies. The Avengers have proven that they can be a... _positive asset_ to this world. As I have said before...we owe _you_ a debt. Try not to get too cocky." The former general got back into the limo and drove off.

Happy and Tony's other drivers were ready with their vehicles, and the Avengers followed in pursuit to right their wrongs and any other threats and misunderstandings that were about to come their way.

"You ok?" Tony whispered to Steve in the limo.

Steve was shaking from nerves and from anger. He nodded. "I'll be fine. He just rubs me the wrong way."

"You and me both, babe." Tony wiped his brow with his sleeve. "I'm surprised he can walk with that trunk up his ass."

That earned a chuckle from Clint, as he could finally breathe again within the privacy of the car.

"Now children." Tony got the attention of everyone in the car. " _Please_ let me do all of the talking. I don't need any outbursts or fits being thrown. It just won't get us anywhere. Now, I will be very mindful of wide eyes, moans, and gasps, or uncomfortable fidgeting. I promise you, I've dealt with much worse cases, and I can take into note all of the things that you don't like or don't agree with. This won't be over today."

"Why are you looking at me?" Clint looked at Tony confused.

"I promise we're going to get out with a lot less bruises if I'm in charge."

"Tony's right." Steve put on his Captain America voice, which automatically made everyone listen. Tony sometimes wished he had that, but it would not be as much fun. "He's more adapt in this field than all of us combined, but everything will still be decided as a team. We stick together on this."

"Absolutely, Cap. Whatever you say!" Scott agreed.

Tony almost passed out from rolling his eyes into the back of his head. " _SUCK-UUUUUUUUUUP!_ "

* * *

Tony knew they had won when Ross just stormed out of the meeting without a word.

Stepping outside into the fresh air was something. The Avengers were finally free...somewhat. This was the first of many, and Tony promised he would do most of the legwork with his team of lawyers, as the others were not the best at diplomacy.

The first stipulation, as predicted by Steve, was staying within the property of the compound. Luckily, Tony made sure they could go out with him as an escort, once a week.

"Am I grounded or something?" Clint complained. "This lockdown is stupid."

"God, I missed you, Katniss." Tony rolled his eyes. He clapped his hands together. "Attention boys and girls. Pizza will be here shortly, and-"

"Jalapeños and chicken?" Clint raised his hand.

"I know all of your orders better than my suit designs. Yes, I'm just preparing you to stay back until the delivery boys get it all in here. Don't run over them and scare them off, because then we can't eat."

"Not _all_ of us are children, Stark." Natasha revealed herself to the group, met with a bunch of surprised but happy greetings.

Tony and Steve went upstairs to change, but barely made it to their floor when they were mauled by an over-hyped teenager.

"You're back! You're both back!" Peter was thrilled, he could barely contain himself. He stepped back, tears building up. "Is...um...is everything good?"

"Yeah, son. Come here." Steve wrapped his arms around Peter, then pulled Tony back into the group hug. "Peter." Steve sat down on a chase lounge in the hall. "I am so sorry for all of this. For hurting you and your dad...for not listening...and leaving you behind. But..." He waited for Peter to control his tears. "I promise you I am not leaving you two ever again. You will always come first."

Peter hugged him tighter. "It's good to be back to this..."

Steve looked up and met Tony's eyes. They were finally happy again. Those beautiful, troubled eyes.

Everyone took a silent vow to themselves that night that they were not going to let anything like this happen again.

Because family always sticks together, through thick and thin.


	12. Chapter 12

Steve wanted Tony to take his shower first, since he was still not fully recovered from flying to and his time in Wakanda.

"You can't be serious?" Tony scoffed. "I'm not the one who's been on the run for the past however the hell long it's been."

"Tony, please, let's not argue about this. I don't..." Steve choked.

"Steve?" Tony tossed his shoes aside. "What's wrong?"

"You're too good to me..." Steve said.

"Babe, no, come here." Tony hugged him. "I thought we got all of that out already. What's gotten into you? I was a stubborn ass...you were a stubborn ass...we're perfect for each other."

That earned Tony a chuckle.

"It's just that..." Steve calmed down enough to speak. "After all I've done...we can just... _go back_..."

Tony sighed. "Look...I'm not gonna lie and say that I've _completely_ moved on. But...when it comes to me and you...look at me. I've screwed up almost every day my entire life, and I've done a lot more worse things than you can even imagine on your darkest days." Tony unbuttoned his shirt, took Steve's hand, and placed it on his chest.

"Tony, no...I-" Tears fell as Steve could not see the scarring for the blue and purple bruises that still pained his husband's chest.

_"That shield doesn't belong to you! You don't deserve it!"_

Tony's heart pounded under his shaking fingertips. Steve was scared to hurt him again.

"I want you, Steve." Tony said. "I always have...These...they will go away soon. It's already gotten better, I-hey, no please..." Tony started crying as Steve just sobbed.

"I'm so sorry, Tony, I can't believe I-that was _not me_!"

"I know it wasn't..." Tony pulled Steve back to him. "I've been thinking about you every second of every day, and when I got that letter...I had to get you back. I would cross the ocean again to make sure you stay here with me."

Tony left no more room for arguing and kissed Steve softly. Steve melted. He was home again, here in this room, where he never even dreamed he could ever be allowed again.

"I'm going to take care of you, Tony." Steve vowed. "I cannot lose you again...you and Peter are my _world_. Just...thank-you."

"Don't mention it." Tony smiled. "Now, come on, we both smell so you know what that means."

"Are you sure? After...everything."

"Steven Stark-Rogers, if America's ass does not get in that shower in five seconds, I'm going to drop you off at Ross' front door."


	13. Chapter 13

"Hulk _BOOOOOOORED_!" The creature moaned again.

Loki slowly inched away, as Valkyrie went to console her friend.

"We'll get there soon, not to worry." She smiled.

Thor patted his giant friend on the knee. "She's right. Not much longer, we'll be back on Earth, home sweet home."

"Earth no like Hulk!"

"Earth loves Hulk! We've been over this before!" Thor wished Bruce could come back, but he did not want to think about that right now. Not only was it a touchy subject for both sides of the party, but Bruce was worried he may never come back...and that scared Thor.

"Listen, why don't you and I try to find a drink?" Valkyrie offered.

"Friend make good idea." The Hulk stomped away with her as Thor did a once-over with his people, making sure everyone was still all right.

Loki was in the captain's quarters, hiding from the Hulk, Thor presumed.

"Do you think it's a good idea? Going back to Earth?"

"Yes, of course...did you have an alternative?"

Loki smirked. "Do you think it's wise for _me_ to come back, after...well, everything?" He raised an eyebrow.

Thor sighed. "Brother, I can assure you, everything will be just fine..."

A shadow suddenly loomed over their ship. The two looked at each other tensely, and ran out to the main deck.

"Brother..." Loki whispered weakly. They both stared at the huge battleship blocking their path.

"Loki...do you know who that is?" Thor needed an answer, but Heimdall appeared, having apparently already escorted as many people as he could fit into the escape pods.

But it was not enough to save everyone.

A bright light flared up before their ship shook from the impact of the blast. Screams filled their ears as Thor tried to figure out what to do.

A young man bravely grabbed the intercom and desperately tried to persuade the obvious warship.

"This is the Asgardian refugee vessel _Statesman_. We are under assault." Another boom shook them, but the poor thing continued. "I repeat, we are under assault! The engines are dead, life support failing. Requesting aid from any vessel within range. We are 22 jump points out of Asgard. Our crew is made up of Asgardian families. We have very few soldiers here. This is _not_ a warcraft. I repeat, _this is not a warcraft_!"

Power went out as the entire ship whined into submission.

"Loki!" Thor was thrown back and a pieces of the ceiling fell and crushed him.

Heimdall disappeared under debris as well.

Loki managed to save himself from too much damage, but he had worse things to worry about.

He was terrified.

_If you fail..._

_If the Tessaract is kept from us..._

_There will be no realm, no barren moon, no crevice where_ he _cannot find you._

_You think you know pain? He will make you long for something as sweet as pain!_

Loki prayed to the Allfathers for mercy, and he prayed to his mother for a miracle.

"Thor?" Loki called out. He coughed up smoke. "Thor!"

No response.

Against his better judgment, he stepped outside of his hole into a clearing where he realized a little too late that he should have stayed where he was.

The Black Order stared at him.

His merciless children. He had only met them once. And he feared the worst.

" _Odinson..._ " Corvus Glaive growled. "You have some explaining to do..."

"He's a failure, our father should not have trusted such a pathetic excuse of a god..." Proxima Midnight sneered.

Loki willed himself to keep steady. "Well, this is certainly a pleasant surprise...I-" Heimdall's cry of pain and struggle to escape whatever trapped him distracted the Silvertongue for a moment.

Then Cull Obsidian, in his monstrous form, mumbled around the ship, looking for _it_ , Loki was sure.

"Hear me! And rejoice..." Chills went down Loki's spine. "You have had the privilege of being saved by the great Thanos." Ebony Maw, said to be the most loyal and feared of this merciless group strolled through the wreckage. He was careful not to step on any body, dead, or almost dead. Loki observed that not many had survived the attack, and it saddened him.

Asgard had truly fallen.

"You may think this is suffering, no." Maw went on. "It is salvation. The universal scale tips toward balance because of your sacrifice." He bends over to stare an Asgardian, the one who sent out the message. He looked utterly terrified. "Smile. For even in death, you have become children of Thanos." Maw gestured to the back of the ship.

Loki had not even known they had been boarded, much less, by the most dangerous beings in the Nine Realms, perhaps the universe. He looked towards where Maw was now bowing, and froze.

There he was.

Towering over all, he walked slowly, almost careful to not cause any more distress to the now-useless vessel. A moan of pain grabbed his attention, only a cut of the eyes showed he even noticed.

Then, he spoke: "I know what it's like to lose. To feel so desperately that you're right, yet to fail, nonetheless." To Loki's horror, Thanos grabbed Thor and pulled him up out of the wreckage by the chest. The Asgardian prince was too weak to fight back. He turned around, and walked toward Loki, staring at him.

Loki did not move, as the Black Order also had him surrounded in a semicircle behind him. Weapons dared him to try anything.

"Frightening." Thanos continues. "Turns the legs to jelly. I ask you to what end? Dread it? Run from it? Destiny arrives all the same." He stops a few feet from Loki, and the God of Mischief had not been this scared in years since the last time he was in this eerily familiar predicament. "...and now it's here, or should I say... _I_ am." He showed off his golden gauntlet, a purple stone shining brightly, threateningly.

A gasp redirected Loki's attention.

"You talk too much." Thor choked.

"The Tessaract." Thanos said. "Or, your brother's head. I assume you have a preference." He tilted his head, as if knowing the answer.

Loki summed up his courage. He turned on his stubborn charm. "Oh, I do. _Kill away_."

Thanos looked up, surprised by the rebellion.

Thor's screams of pain would haunt Loki forever, he knew.

And he could not stand it for another second. "All right, stop!"

"We don't have the Tessaract." Thor tried to reason. "It was destroyed on Asgard."

Loki winced, and Thor noticed. His eyes begged for forgiveness. _I've done it again._

"Loki... _why?_ " Thor plead as Loki revealed his possession of the Tessaract.

"I assure you, brother." He crept towards Thanos, palm up, offering up _unlimited power_ to the Mad Titan. "The sun will shine on us again."

"Your optimism is misplaced, Asgardian." Thanos grinned.

Loki pulled the Tessaract slightly back to himself. "Well, for one thing, I'm not Asgardian...and for another..." He cut his eyes to Thor briefly. "We have a Hulk."

Loki dove for Thor as all hell broke loose.


	14. Chapter 14

"Hey! Watch it! This car is your father's, and-"

"Sorry, Happy! I'm just, woo! So excited school's _over_ it's summer!" Peter threw his backpack into the seat next to him.

Happy gave him a look through the rear-view mirror. "Better not have scratched that leather..."

"I'm starving! Can we drive-thru?"

"Put your seatbelt on! And no! I have strict orders to drive you directly home and directly to school. No detours!"

"Happy, nobody knows Spider-Man's identity except for _us_ , and I've been bored out of my mind these past few months after...everything."

Happy sighed, deciding his job was important, but the kid was _slowly_ starting to grow on him so...

"Not a word."

"You're the best, Happy!" The car swerved as Happy was not expecting a hug from behind while he was veering into oncoming traffic. "Sorry."

* * *

Tony practically slammed his keys into the desk and jerked his nice suit coat off. He rubbed his face in disarray.

"I'm never going to make it to my next birthday...wouldn't be the first time..."

"Tony?"

Tony looked over to see Steve was in a makeshift nook by the window sketching while Wanda was reading next to him.

"Oh, hey kids. Daddy's just exhausted dealing with incompetence." He knew he was celebrating too early after that first session. "Ross is _relentless_."

"So are you. You can handle him." Wanda snarked off.

"Am I supposed to take that as a compliment?"

Wanda smiled and gave him a wink. Tony had been apologizing to her off and on ever since they all returned home. He promised he would make it up to her. She assured him everything was going to work out. She and Pietro used to get into big fights too.

But families always came back together.

"Oh, hey, guys, uh...whatever his name is, is on the phone." Clint called from the living room.

"If it's Ross, go straight to voicemail. If it's encrypted, it's probably him."

"No, it's Wakanda."

"Oh...ok. Put them on."

"...Mr. Stark? This is T'Challa."

"Hey, how are things?"

"The usual quiet...except, I have some news."

Steve's heart raced. "How is he?"

"Barnes is fine. I believe he is ready to enter the world again."

"Really?" Steve wondered.

"Yes, my sister has overseen his care from the beginning, and ever since he woke up a few weeks ago, he has shown no signs of hostility." He paused. "We even said the _words_ , and have come to the conclusion that they have no effect on him anymore."

"Oh...ok..." Steve thought he was going to cry, he was so happy. "Um...thank-you...thank-you so much."

"It is the least I can do, Captain. I promised you, I would help someone walk away from all of this pain one day. And that day has come."

"So, can we..." Steve looked to Tony, whose expression was hard to read.

"I would not advise that just yet, Captain. Although, the last UN meeting I went to has mentioned they have reevaluated recent charges on Barnes, I do not know to what extent he can pursue a normal life in America just yet."

"Sure...I understand..."

"You are more than welcome to visit him whenever you would like."

"Thank-you, your highness. We'll talk soon."

After they hung up, Tony scrunched his face up. "Why does 'your highness' only sound weird when I say it?"

"Tony..." Steve took Tony's hands, and could feel they were slightly shaking. "Is it ok if I go see him?"

"Of course. He's your friend." Tony was being honest about that.

"Is it ok...if I can help him find a place around here, maybe an apartment close enough where he doesn't have to be alone?"

"What do you mean?" Tony asked.

"Well, I just don't want to leave him to fend for himself. This will be the first time since before the war that he-"

"I mean, we've got tons of spare rooms here. Peter will love to finally have a roommate. And besides, if I don't find a purpose for that room, I'm turning it into another lab for-"

"Tony? Are you sure you're ok with this?"

"Look...I've given it a lot of thought. I know I...lashed out in Siberia, but before _that moment_ , I was willing to find him the help he needed, because it wasn't all him." Tony took a shaky breath. "And I hate grudges, hard feelings, bitterness, it just, it's not my style. I-"

"Honey, if you're just doing this for me and you're not comfortable with this, he'll just be happy to finally have a home, wherever it may be..."

"No, I'll be fine...it'll just...take a while, is all..."

Steve hugged him tightly. "You are incredible, you know that, right?"

"Yeah, I'm the best."


	15. Chapter 15

Doctor Stephen Strange stared into the void of the city through the massive Sanctum window, bored out of his mind, almost _daring_ something to happen...

Almost.

"Stephen!" Wong called from the library across the hall. "Stephen, there you are." He ventured in, sensing tenseness. "Are you all right?"

"Just another day in paradise, Wong." Stephen sighed.

"Yes, well, it's nice to not have a reality-shattering event every day, but that's just me."

The two men smirked at each other.

"So, what's the status?"

"Well, I've been craving a Tuna Melt..." Wong's eyebrows matched Stephen's. "Oh, I mean, no, nothing. Earth is still protected, even after well, that little incident you had with the Asgardians."

"Yes, that was...annoying..." Stephen reverted back to Wong's first answer. "Well, would you like me to pick one up for you?"

"An Asgardian? No thank-you. Too violent, too _dramatic_." Wong shook his head.

"I mean, a sandwich."

"Oh, yes please, on wheat, preferably."

"Great." Stephen held his hand out for money, then realized Wong only had rupees. He scrunched his hand back up into a fist and headed down the stairs, Wong following behind him to lock the front door.

"So, Wong, I was thinking-"

**_*CRASH*_ **

The staircase now had a gaping hole, along with the roof.

Wong conjured up his defenses while Stephen summoned the Cloak of Levitation. They ran up to find...

A man twisting, contorting, and shrinking on top of the rubble. A deep voice croaked out "Thanos is coming..."

Stephen and Wong looked at each other in worry and confusion.

"Who?"

"Thanos..." The man's voice suddenly changed to a more, normal-sounding voice to what he now looked like, tan skin and curly hair. "He, uh..." He struggled to get up.

"Allow me." Wong helped him up and out and they sat him down on the stairs that were still in tact. "Are you all right?"

"I don't know..." The man looked off into nothing, trying to piece together what all happened just now. "But we're in big trouble...not just us...the entire universe."

"Who's Thanos?" Strange asked impatiently.

"Give him a minute. The man literally just fell through the ceiling." Wong chided him.

"He's not just a man...this is Doctor Bruce Banner, whose alter ego the Hulk is a well-known Avenger who has a tendency to leave his _mark_ wherever he goes..."

"More or less..." Bruce looks behind him at the hole in the floor. "Sorry..."

"It's just stairs." Wong tried to make him feel better. Stephen tried to figure out a point in time when roles were reversed when Wong was the worry-wart and he was the carefree one. "Come, let's get you some tea."

After some time to console himself, Bruce began to explain everything.

"Remember the attack on New York with the aliens? Loki, the Chitauri? That was Thanos. He's been searching for the Infinity Stones all this time, and now, for some reason, he's onto us..."

"Infinity Stones?" Stephen nervously repeated. He instinctively put his hand over the Eye of Agamotto.

"Yeah, why, is that one?" Bruce pointed.

"..." Stephen looked at Wong. "Yes..."

"Well, we better get some help, cause one of our fellow team members is living off of one, and I don't know where he is...I've been gone two years."

"Go locate Tony Stark." Wong instructed Stephen. "I'll get you some clothes, Doctor Banner. Come." As he led Bruce out of the lobby, Stephen went off to figure out where Tony Stark was.

It did not take long to find out.

* * *

Rhodey and Natasha were outside watching Peter and Wanda playing the weirdest game of tag imaginable when sparks started flying in a circular formation.

"We got company." Rhodey stiffly stood up.

Natasha placed herself protectively in front of him. "Get inside." He nodded and went off.

Stephen walked through the portal. "You must be the infamous Black Widow. I'm Doctor Stephen Strange, and I'm here to speak with Tony Stark, well, all of you..."

"Ok..." Natasha nervously cut her eyes to Peter and Wanda, who had thankfully noticed the surprise guest.

"Don't worry, I'm a friend...and-"

"Hey, Nat..." Bruce came through with a shy wave.

"Bruce?" Natasha let her guard down as the portal closed. "You're alive?"

"It's a long story..."

"Come on in." She led them into the living room, offering drinks, which Stephen politely declined and Bruce greedily accepted.

After being the Hulk and literally fighting - and losing to - the most powerful being in the universe, he felt he could drink a lake.

"Is the Renaissance fair already starting?" Tony walks into the room with Steve and Rhodey, who had gotten their attention. Peter and Wanda filed in as well. "Bruce?! What the hell?"

"Doctor Banner, what a surprise." Vision greeted, as he took Wanda's hand, who was clearly nervous with the new magic-wielder present.

"Missed you guys..." Bruce finished off his glass and sat down with the group. "Um...where should I begin...uh..." He looked around the room, and tears started to form.

"Bruce, what's wrong? What happened?" Steve asked.

Bruce massaged his temples, trying to stay calm and not bring the Other Guy into the discussion.

"Thor's gone..."


	16. Chapter 16

The room remained quiet.

"Thor?" Steve's voice broke slightly, not wanting to believe what he was hearing.

Bruce shook his head. "I'm sorry...the whole time I've been gone, the Hulk was in charge, and...according to him, Thanos knocked him out cold."

"Knocked him out?!" Tony repeated surprised. "Never in my wildest dreams..." He mumbled to himself.

"What happened, Bruce?" Natasha asked.

Bruce began with the destruction of Asgard.

"So, the attack on New York...that's _him_..."

Tony exited his head space, and spoke up. "Tell me his name again."

"Thanos."

Steve tried to take it all in. As if they were not dealing with enough already. This year was nothing short of eventful.

"And he's going after... _all_ of the Infinity Stones?" Wanda worried. She gripped Vision's arm tighter.

"He wants to wipe out half of the population...of the universe. If he gets all six stones. And he already has two."

"Which ones?" Clint asked.

"A purple one, and the Tessaract."

The Avengers tensed up even more. It took a while, but Thanos eventually got what he came for when he came to Earth. And the cleanup was hard on New York.

"So, we've got a big problem, then..." Scott pointed out. "And, I for one, have no idea...I mean, what about the Accords?"

"They're going to have to deal with it." Tony answered. "I've basically got them right where I want them, and if Doc over hear can join me, then I can move it along faster so we can convince them to move on with their lives, so we can make sure they can...everyone can..."

"All right." Steve nodded. He was so glad they were all back together. "But we need to continue to behave. I know it's been a rough few months..."

"A _boring_ few months..." Clint interrupted.

"But, we gotta hold on a little longer. Because now, we've got another fight coming, and we've gotta be ready for it. We will not surrender either Stone." He cut his eyes to Stephen and Vision. "Thanos can't accomplish what he set out to do if he doesn't have them all. We are in control of the situation...so we keep it that way."

Everyone agreed, despite the uneasiness of yet another unpleasant thing to add to the list of this year.

* * *

Vision hated when Wanda was upset. Red tendrils of her magic danced around her head as she paced back and forth in their room.

"Wanda, please come to bed. It's late, and I know you're tired. You can't figure this out on your own overnight...no one can."

"How can I sleep when your life is on the line?" She pulled at her hair. "It's just...can we ever catch a break?"

Vision stopped her in her tracks and gently massaged her head. He sat her down on the edge of the bed, and she moaned softly, starting to relax.

"You have been through so much, Wanda." Vision softly observed. "I don't want you to want for anything, because you deserve a happy life." Silent tears fell down her face, and he wiped them away. "I will do whatever it takes to make sure you will never have to live through a war ever again. Thanos doesn't stand a chance against us."

"But, he, he already has _two_ Infinity Stones, and he wants you, and-"

Vision took her hand and placed it over his forehead. "So do we..."


	17. Chapter 17

It was early evening, and dinner without Tony and Stephen were quieter than usual. Steve hated it, but they had to inform everyone of what they just learned...and hopefully not face repercussions for fighting a universal threat.

Everyone trickled off to their own quarters, except for Steve and Sam.

"So, can't wait for tomorrow, can you?" Steve smirked.

Sam rolled his eyes. "Actually, I can...it's bad enough I've gotta deal with you, but now Bucky _and_ Peter want to join in? I think I'm just going to retire."

"I thought you already retired?"

"From the military, yeah, but not from you bunch of clowns. Seriously, was genetic mutations a requirement to sign up?"

"Of course not." Steve plopped down on the sofa. "Then you'd be out of a job."

"That hurts, Cap."

" _Captain, Senator Ross refuses to leave the property, and I believe he is insistent on seeing you. I apologize._ "

"It's ok, FRIDAY." Steve looked up at the ceiling, then to Sam. "I'll handle it."

"I can't let you have all the fun." Sam did not leave any room for arguing, and followed Steve outside.

Ross is outside a limo, alone, save for the driver and maybe a guard or two, but they must be well hidden. He would not be dumb enough to ever come alone. He liked to have not only protection, but witnesses to corrupt their images.

"Captain. Forgive me, but I wanted to make sure we would not be so _rudely_ interrupted. It's hard to get anything done when all parties are present."

Steve clenched his jaw, remembering what Tony kept telling them. _Stay calm. Don't ever make a scene, because that will make this a whole lot worse. Don't play his game._

"Actually, Tony has been doing a lot more than all of us put together when it comes to accomplishing things. And we are certainly holding up our end of the deal...what do you want?" Steve bites.

Ross scrunched his nose. "Captain, I never knew you to be the kind of person to inflict pain on your own men in uniform. They all look up to you, and this is how you repay them? Beating them senseless just to free your friends from a prison they knew very well they were facing when they decided to team up with you against the United Nations?"

"Come on." Sam spoke up. "They merely got knocked out. I wanna see those medical records then, and if they need any psychiatric help from getting punched in the face by Captain America, let me know. I'm a trained professional."

" _You_ are not to step near those men, as you do not have the credentials nor the authority to _contaminate_ them any further." Ross shut him down, but Sam thought none of it. He just liked ruffling Ross' feathers, no matter how much it hurt him deep down that he could not continue to pursue his career he had grown a passion for.

"All right, that's enough." Steve cut in. "Back to why you are here?"

" _Trespassing on private property, that's what he's doing. And, once again, harassing, as I had warned you about._ " Tony casually strolled forward, the Iron Man suit peeling open for him to step out of. The suit stood behind him, Ross eyeing it wearily. "My AI just informed me that we had an intruder on my lawn, so obviously, I had to check it out. Then, I picked up on squabbling, and I thought...no, he wouldn't _dare_ , because he's a good-for-nothing, law-abiding citizen who is holding a high rank in office, and whose reputation cannot afford to be tarnished any more than it already has..."

Ross and Tony stared at each other for an uncomfortable silence, leaving Steve and Sam twitching nervously.

"I was just checking up to see how things were, what with your new _limitations_ your _pets_ have to follow." Ross barely brushed Tony's shoulder as he went away.

Tony wanted so much to screw it all and beat the ever-loving daylights out of that sorry excuse of a man, but turned to see Steve, and he immediately calmed down.

"Hey babe...Sam...y'all hungry? I'm starving. Haven't eaten all day because these lousy senators won't let me have a peaceful lunch break."

"We saved plenty of burgers for you and all of the crazy people who eat their fourth meals at midnight." Sam said.

"As long as I can eat, otherwise I might just turn into a pumpkin."

Steve laughed, throwing an arm around Tony, who was so happy he understood that reference.

* * *

Tony jerked awake and fell out of bed trying to reach for Steve for comfort. When he opened up his eyes...

"Steve? Honey, what are you doing on the floor?"

"Pinned down by you..." Steve smiled tiredly.

"No, I mean...unfortunately, I'm not in the mood right now, but...what's going on? You've got a whole sleep-over vibe going on..." Tony frowned, his mind going directly to the worst possible reason.

Steve noticed. "No, honey. Don't go there. I'm sorry, I...remember that one nightmare I had? The really, _really_ bad one?"

"You're going to have to get a tad more specific." Tony said.

"When I..." Steve could not say it.

"Oh... _oh..._ " Tony realized. "Hey, I get black eyes all the time...just ask Dummy. Might as well start wearing makeup."

"Ever since we came back home, they're flaring up again, and I..." Tears welled up. "I don't want to hurt you again..."

Tony bravely leaned forward and brought their foreheads together. Then he placed Steve's hand over his scarred chest. Steve still tensed up, but Tony was proud of himself for not feeling as nervous as the first time since _it_ happened.

"I trust you." Tony whispered. "I trust you to protect me, and to protect Peter, and to lead all of us. I trust you more than anybody."

"Tony..." Steve shook his head. "I just don't want to make that mistake again."

"And I don't want you to push me away." Tony said. "After all I did to screw up...I'm doing everything I can to fix this." Tony held his hand there. "To fix _us_..."

Steve stared at the chest, which the bruises were very faint now, healing up much better now that Tony has been getting the rest and nutrition he needs. _You're like our own personal trainer, Cap. But I still want ice cream for breakfast._

"I'm sorry, honey." Steve apologized. He stood up and put the pillows and blankets back on the bed. "Let's get back in bed."

"Ok." Tony smiled.


	18. Chapter 18

Bucky gaped a little as he exited the Wakanda aircraft. Who knew Steve's rich friend was _rich?_

"No offense, your highness, but I think I'm gonna like it here a little better."

T'Challa smirked. "I can understand. Being home is far more comfortable amongst family."

Family. Did he really deserve such a thing? Growing up, he always wanted to marry and have tons of kids...

Then, well, _everything_ happened, and here he was, becoming roommates with a bunch of superheroes.

"You sure I'll be ok?" Bucky asked for the millionth time.

"I trust my sister more than anyone, and she has assured us that everything will be fine. The Winter Soldier is no more."

Bucky's stomach lurched uncomfortably at that name, that reputation, and vowed to start over. Definitely not as an Avenger, but just as Bucky.

They shook hands, and T'Challa was surprised but glad to be pulled into a hug.

"Thank-you." Bucky whispered.

"Of course, my friend. And thank-you." T'Challa also had to learn a hard lesson, and throughout Bucky's recovery, he took every chance he could to be a part of it. They talked a lot about his father, and Bucky pushed through the regret and anger with himself. T'Challa forgave him.

And maybe one day, he could forgive himself.

"Hey Buck!" Steve called out.

"There's trouble." Bucky grinned.

"How are you?" Steve tried to remain casual, but the question was heavy.

"So much better...I think I'm ok..."

"I'm so glad..." Steve led the way inside, as Bucky let out a low whistle of awe. "Now, you're room is upstairs this way, and you remember that kid from Queens? Well..."

"IS MY ROOMMATE HERE?!" A high-pitch squelch made Bucky jump. "Hi! I'm Peter! I'm the one who thought your arm was so cool, and OH MY GOSH! SWEET UPGRADE! IS THAT VIBRANIUM?"

"Calm down, Peter. Give him some space."

Bucky did a double take. "How old are you?"

"I'll be sixteen in a couple weeks! Then Dad promised I could go driving! Finally..."

"I almost killed this kid." Bucky told Steve. "I thought I was just on adrenaline in Germany, going crazy, but nope...my suspicions were correct...Steve! I'm a monster!"

"Nah man, no hard feelings!" Peter continued to stare at the metal arm, making Bucky self-conscious. "Can I shake your hand?"

"It's my _left arm_..."

"Ok, is your laundry done yet? Cause, we've got a long line, and I want it done today..." Steve lectured.

Peter rolled his eyes. "Pops, enough with the scheduling..."

"Oh, trust me kid, he's always been like this." Bucky winked, and Steve realized that these two were definitely teaming up against him, and he was not sure he was ready for such a battle.

Peter looked between the two super soldiers. "Makes sense."

"Hey." Steve changed the subject. "Why don't you show Bucky to his room?"

"Oh yeah! Absolutely! Hey, guess what? We're neighbors! You're right across the hall from me!"

Peter kept chattering, and Bucky turned to Steve. "Does he have an off-switch?"

"Still searching." Steve shook his head.

* * *

Bruce sipped his lemonade, trying to enjoy some peace and quiet. But his mind kept fighting with the Other Guy.

_Hulk? You there, buddy?_

The faintest growl could be felt in the base of his skull.

_Come on, I know this Thanos is intimidating, but we gotta sort this out. Yesterday Peter literally threw me into the pool without warning, and nothing? I didn't even get a headache._

"Mind if I join you?" Tony pushed his sunglasses up his nose and sat down in the lawn chair opposite of Bruce.

The scientist shifted, so he could sit up straighter. "Go ahead...sorry, been in my head a lot lately."

"Still won't come out to play?"

"Nope, I can't even talk to him, he won't answer me...Tony...this Thanos guy, he's really, _really_ bad news."

_He killed Thor and silenced our biggest gun...no shit._

"I know...say, why don't you come down into the lab with me? I need some help with this nanotech I've been playing with...besides, Veronica misses you."

"She needs a lot more help, that's for sure." Bruce rubbed his temples. "Did the vibranium come in yet?"

"Supposed to be early next week." Tony grinned like a Cheshire Cat. "I _might_ have doubled our order, so that's why it's taking so long."

"Tony...we don't have time for this."

"It's not fair you get all the cool toys!"

"...did you just hear yourself?"

"You know what I mean. How cool would it be to be...Vibranium Man. God, no, that sounds stupid."

"Stick with what you know. Nanotech, huh?"

"Yeah, been working on it for a while, long before the calvary showed back up, not that you would know, being out here sulking all the live long day."

Bruce appreciated his friend for trying to include him. Especially after...

"I'm sorry I left..."

"We missed you...kinda needed you."

"I didn't want to stomp on everyone in Germany."

"No, we needed _you_ , Bruce."

"Thanks, Tony."

"Now, come on, I'm bored from sitting too long. Let's go."

"You just got here, and it's a beautiful day."

"Seriously, we both have gorgeous tan skin already, I don't want to damage it." Tony walked off, Bruce eventually following behind after he gulped down the rest of his lemonade.


	19. Chapter 19

Stephen rolled his eyes as Tony revved up his bright red sports car and peeled out of the longest meeting of their lives. He hated politics, but surprisingly found himself liking Tony's way with handling people.

"Will you _please_ slow down?" Stephen's knuckles turned white as he held onto the dashboard and his door.

Tony turned the music down and gave him a look. "You all right, there? You look paler than usual."

"Obviously you don't know how and why I quit practicing medicine and switched to the mystic arts." Stephen gritted his teeth.

"Let me guess...freak car accident that ruined you, past the point of no return with a strange handicap that flares up every now and then..." Tony glanced his way again. "Especially now...and you had a mentor that gave you the push you needed to become an Avenger...am I warm?"

"More or less..." Stephen let out a breath he did not realize he was holding as they suddenly stopped at the complex. He threw himself out of the car, trying to hide his hands from shaking.

"I'm not _that_ bad of a driver, am I?" Realization dawned on Tony, then his eyes widened. "Oh _shit_ , the...the car...I'm so sorry. I'm a real asshole..."

"You said it, not me..." Stephen managed. He walked out into the yard and took a breath, calming down. "Hard to believe it's been a little over a year. Feels like a lifetime ago..."

"I know what you mean..." Tony thought back to where the Avengers were a year ago...and it was not pretty.

"I found out a few months ago that a patient I was going to take care of was Colonel Rhodes." Stephen waited for a reaction, then smirked at Tony gaping at him. "I could've helped him..."

"No, don't do that..." Tony said. "Rhodey has bounced back...these braces FRIDAY and I made him are state-of-the-art...something you can only imagine in sci-fi movies. I wouldn't be surprised if War Machine makes a comeback..."

"Laughable..." Stephen frowned, then stared at his shaking hands. "It's just...I haven't ridden like that since the accident...I'm fine, now...I apologize for-"

"Don't apologize..." Tony stopped him. "If you haven't already guessed, we all get triggered by like, _everything_...Fourth of July? Well, I've now got _two_ super-soldiers to worry about...everyone knows my story...what all Wanda went through...Vision has an identity crisis every now and then...I don't even wanna know Natasha's demons..." Tony shuddered.

"Well, they do say misery loves company..." Stephen quipped.

"I think I'll keep you...you're starting to grow on me..." Tony threw his arm around Stephen's shoulder as they headed inside to hopefully do a whole lot of nothing for the rest of the day.

"Dad! Doctor Strange!" Peter ran frantically towards them.

"Peter!? What's wrong?"

"Please! You gotta help 'em...they're...there's aliens! And this one is really huge! Hulk won't come out, so Bruce is helping FRIDAY and-"

"Slow down, kid." Tony put both of his hands on Peter and squeezed his shoulders. "What's going on?"

"Pops took everyone in the Quinjet...aliens are attacking the city..."

"Ok, lemme get my suit..."

"Where's Vision?" Stephen asked.

"With Wanda...on their way to Wakanda..."

"Wakanda?!" Tony groaned. He had no idea this invasion was happening now, but it was, and they had no plan of action.

_I have a plan: attack._

"Nevermind." Tony clicked his glasses. "Talk to me, FRIDAY."

" _I've already alerted police and rescue support. They are currently in front of the New York Sanctum._ " FRIDAY sent crappy phone footage of the chaos, and Tony instinctively looked towards the general direction. "What the hell is that donut?"

Stephen looked and got his sling ring on. "You ready?"

"Give me a sec! Peter! With me, now!" Tony and Peter ran inside, down into the lab to grab his suit. "FRIDAY, please tell me this thing is ready."

" _I've yet to run the last few diagnostics..._ "

"No time, come on!" FRIDAY ejected out a thick arc reactor, and Tony stuck it to his chest on the outside of his suit after ripping his tie off. "Peter, come here..."

"I'm _not_ staying here, Dad!" Peter was halfway to opening up _his_ own experimental suit.

"Peter, _no_! It's..." Tony's eyes widened at the blatant disobedience as his son's shy face disappeared behind the IronSpider suit. It did look pretty badass. "Are you kidding me, right now? We're not arguing this..."

"I'm helping!" Peter shouted. "I thought this Thanos guy was supposed to be all hands on deck."

"Peter, what if this isn't just his ground troops, what if he's here?"

"Then a lot of people are gonna get hurt...I can help!"

Tony groaned. "Fine! But you are crowd control _only_ , understand?"

"Yes, sir." Peter saluted.

Tony knew deep down his kid was good...but, something in the pit of his stomach warned him that this was _not_ going to be a walk in the park.

"Are we done arguing?" Stephen walked through his portal, changed out of his suit already into his robes, the Cloak of Levitation motioning for them to come through.

"I don't think it's a good idea for you to come, Doc." Tony eyed the Eye of Agamotto.

"It stays with _me_...and like the kid said...you're gonna need all the help you can get..."


	20. Chapter 20

Steve gripped his shield tight as the Quinjet came upon the scene. The world went into mass hysteria as a giant spaceship came in closer and closer. Spinning, the wind might as well have been a storm, throwing dust and debris everywhere. People were screaming, falling over, getting hit left and right.

" _Babe, you all right?"_ Tony came in through the coms.

A slight calm fell over him. He took a shaky breath, and answered. "Tony...are you seeing this?" Everyone aboard was silent, fear creeping up on them as it kept spinning faster and faster. Steve turned to his team. "Ok...here's what's going to happen. Bruce, keep the engine warm on this thing. We might need emergency evac for people. Nat, Clint, I need you up high ready to strike down, and possibly infiltrate this ship...helping Scott." The man looked wide-eyed at him. Steve nodded reassurance. "Break communications to keep more from coming." Scott nodded. This was a lot more intense than a skirmish amongst themselves in Germany. "Buck, you're with me. Tony is almost here with Strange. We'll face whatever's piloting that thing head on."

"Always save the best for me? So considerate." Bucky smirked.

"All right...now, I don't know what's out there, but if we stick to our guns, we might have a chance. From what Bruce has told us, this Thanos is a big deal, but we've dealt with him before...we can do it again... _together_."

They all mentally prepared themselves, and the Quinjet landed a few blocks away. A portal appeared, Tony zooming through and Peter trailing behind. Doctor Strange calmly walked forward.

"Woah, that thing is huge!" Peter exclaimed.

"KAREN, send Peter coordinates to fire and rescue."

" _Right away, Sir. Peter? Let's go._ "

"Wait!" Peter threw his hands up. "Be careful...please..."

Tony's helmet folded back and he winked at him. "Don't worry, I'll keep your Pops out of trouble...just promise me you'll stay away!"

Peter gave a thumbs up and shot into the air, up and hopefully far away from the fight ahead.

"Tony!" Steve called out from a block away to their right, running towards them. "What is that thing?"

"Obviously my donut fetish coming back to haunt me...hey, where's Wanda and Vision? Have they made it to Wakanda yet?"

" _Yes, they just confirmed_." Natasha said over comms.

"One less thing to worry about...what's the plan?" Tony asked Steve.

"Contain the fight here as much as possible. Police have evacuated most of the area."

"Ok, so Peter can finish his job and hopefully go home."

"Peter's here?!"

"He insisted, and well...you know how he is..."

"Tony, I-"

"Heads up." Stephen stepped up to the two, along with Bucky, taking the safety off of his machine gun.

Tony eyed the weapon in interest. "Is that from Wakanda?"

"Vibranium, yeah, also hooked me up with this sweet upgrade..."

"I saw the package come in...looks good..."

"Feels amazing."

"Can we focus?" Stephen huffed.

The four walked out into the street towards the ship. A beam shot down, cutting into the pavement a little, and two beings presented themselves.

"Hear me, and rejoice!" The smaller one began to speak. "You are about to die at the hands of the children of Thanos. Be thankful that your meaningless lives are now-"

"I'm sorry, Earth is _closed today_!" Tony interrupted. Everyone stared at him like he was crazy. "You better pack it up and get outta here!"

The alien looked at him in disgust. "Stonekeeper!" He addressed Stephen. "Does this chattering animal speak for you?"

"Certainly not...I speak for myself." Stephen stepped forward, conjuring up his defenses. "You are trespassing in this city and on this planet."

"It means get lost, Squidward!" Tony called out.

"He exhausts me..." He said to his large and very angry looking partner.

"Honey, I think that's enough irritating for now..." Steve lectured.

"Oh, I haven't even started..." Tony laughed. Steve gave him a look and he stopped. "Yeah, ok...here we go..."

The big one slammed his weapon into the ground, and Tony approached him, his suit warping a shield onto one arm, blocking the first blow. Stephen kept his eye out for the other one, not liking the fact that he was being singled out. He knew what they were coming for...and-

"There you are..." This one clearly had telepathic abilities. He looked greedily at the Mind Stone around Stephen's neck. "The Stone, if you will."

"Over my dead body..." Stephen spat.

"Then I shall take it off your corpse!" He slammed Stephen into the wall, bricks holding him fast.

Steve and Bucky helped Tony fight the big guy, missing the Hulk now more than ever. It was so much easier last time with him.

"Big guy doesn't want a piece of the action?" Tony asked hopefully over the comms.

"Sorry, Tony, I've been trying, but nothing..." Bruce said dejectedly from the pilot seat. "But the others have managed to get into the ship, thanks to Scott and his...army of ants."

"Gross, ok, keep up the good work." Tony continued to try not to get pummeled, all the while protecting Steve and Bucky. Even as enhanced humans, one big hit from this guy with no suit to protect them, and they would be knocked into next Tuesday.

"Tony!" Steve threw his shield to keep the big lug from pummeling Tony, who was distracted by a ring of static light forming.

"Wong!" Tony shouted in glee.

"Who?" Bucky asked, confused.

"Thought you needed my help..." The man said smugly. The alien grunted in anger and charged Wong, who sidestepped him, and whipping around his legs with his magic, it fell into a portal, its legs the only thing left behind.

"I think I'm gonna throw up..."

Tony and the others looked over to see Peter take his mask off, who was looking a little under the weather.

"That's disgusting!"

"Peter?!"

Peter threw his hands up in surrender before Tony could say another word. "Everyone's evacuated the area. There's nothing else for me to do..."

"You can go back home..." Tony took a closer look at Peter's suit. "Why is there a dent there?"

"Wha-" Peter examined his wrist as if for the first time. "Oh, that? I nicked it from a lamp post flying towards a little girl. Don't worry, she's back with her mom."

"Peter..." Steve approached him. "I'm glad you were here to help, but son...this is dangerous."

"Did you see what Wong just did?! Which was _sick_ , but awesome, by the way."

"Peter, go home. I need you to do something for me."

"What is it?" Peter did not want to leave, but if it was to help, then he could be ok with it.

"I need you to go home and have FRIDAY place a call to T'challa...warn them about what's happening here."

"OK, Pops."

"And I mean, go _straight home_. No detours, no pit stops." Tony said.

"Yes, sir."

Peter went off, and everyone felt a little better about their predicament until they saw Doctor Strange get beamed up to the ship.

" _Uh, Stark...we're going for a ride!_ " Clint called.

"Shit, hang on Legolas!"


	21. Chapter 21

Natasha pushed Clint's head down as Doctor Strange's still body was floating into the room. That creepy alien followed calmly. Scott remained shrunk down and perched on Clint's arrows.

"What a pleasant surprise..." The alien spoke. "I was unaware that I was to bring to Thanos personal sacrifices along with his prize." He turned and seemed to stare right through the control panel the Avengers were hiding behind as if it was not there. "My name is Ebony Maw...I am a child of Thanos, our lord and savior of this dying universe. And you must be the Avengers we have heard so much about. You left quite the impression the last time we were in New York. It seems your numbers have grown exponentially."

Natasha stepped out from behind boldly, Clint right by her side.

"Yeah, well, can you blame us? He threatened our home." Clint crossed his arms.

"How noble of you..." Maw bowed his head. "And blessed you are...to witness the dawn of a new era this universe has yet to see. A chance for a fresh start, a-" Natasha's dagger stopped in mid-air without a twitch from the telekinetic alien. "Pardon me...where are my manners?" Coils of metal suddenly wrapped around Natasha and Clint and flat piece boxed in around Scott and his ant he was riding. "Now...as I was saying...sit tight...for if I am to reach my rendezvous on time successfully, I need a moment with Earth's Sorcerer Supreme."

Stephen moaned as he came to and found himself unable to move. The first thing he saw was Maw coming towards him menacingly and his fellow teammates confined from saving him.

"In all the time that I have served Thanos, I have never failed him." Needles of glass came to surround Stephen's hovering form. "I don't plan on starting today..." They inched closer to Stephen's face. "Give. Me. The stone..."

One started to cut into his cheek. He winced. Maw stared at him, daring him to keep denying his request.

* * *

Peter made it home, and FRIDAY immediately dialed T'challa, who answered surprisingly quickly.

"Hi, your majesty...uh...we've got a problem."

"I have heard. It is all over the news. We are doing everything in our power to help your friends." T'challa assured the boy, who breathed a sigh of relief.

"But, this Thanos guy, he's probably got an army headed your way!" Peter warned.

T'challa smirked. "Let them try..."

" _Is that Peter?_ " Wanda ran up, T'challa scooting over for her to share the screen with. "Peter! Are you ok? How is everyone?"

"Uuuuuuuhhhhh...loaded question..." Peter answered. "I'm grounded apparently, but Wanda, it's like... _really_ bad right now. I just can't believe it's already here, and-"

"Peter, listen to me..." Wanda tried to calm him down. "This is exactly why Vision and I left to come here. We cannot risk all of the stones in one place. And T'challa's sister is trying to take the stone out of Vision."

"Wait, really?"

"We think there's enough of Vision left that does not rely on the stone. He has evolved into so much more, I think it will work." Peter noticed Wanda fighting tears, seemingly attempting to tell herself more than anyone that this was the best option.

"Ok, yeah...and my Dad is a genius...he's got this under control...right, FRIDAY?"

FRIDAY hesitated for a split second. " _Yes, Peter_."

* * *

"Give me a boost, FRIDAY!" Tony was flying through the air, an engine appearing at his feet to shoot him faster to the ship.

" _Tony! What are you doing?_ " Steve cried out.

"Saving our family!" Tony attached himself to the ship, looking for a way in.

" _Tony..._ " Steve's voice cracked. " _I swear if you don't come back-_ "

"You'll what, divorce me?" Tony sassed off.

" _Tony, please..._ "

"I promise, babe...I'm coming back..."

* * *

Steve returned to the Quinjet, and collapsed into a seat in the back.

Bruce got up and sat next to him.

"We'll get through this, Steve...whatever it takes..."

"Whatever it takes..." Steve repeated.


	22. Chapter 22

Tony managed to make it to the flying donut without much fuss and found a ledge to land on.

"FRIDAY, you got heat signatures?" Tony thought he heard a reply, but the farther away they moved from Earth, the worse it got until radio silence. "Surprise guest, it is..." Keeping a firm grip with one hand, he used a laser beam to scorch out a small enough gap to enter through.

He found himself high enough that he could vaguely hear Squidward talking.

_Good...this is good, well, not good, but..._

Sealing back his entrance to keep as much air in as possible for everyone, Tony still found himself not caught.

_That means he's alone. Also, good._

" _Impressive, aren't they?_ " Ebony Maw continued as Stephen continued to resist. " _These were originally designed for micro-surgery..._ either one of them could potentially end your friend's life..." Maw turned around, looking past Natasha, Clint, and Scott, to stare down Tony.

"He's not really my friend, we've just got a common enemy, which is your ugly ass..." Tony held up his hands, preparing to fight.

Maw's powers tore off two huge pieces of the ship, twisting his nasty hands in a threatening way. "You are no match for someone with _my expertise_..."

"Yeah, but you're no match for my son's pop culture references..." Without warning, Tony shot at the side of the ship, the vacuum of space sucking Ebony Maw out to his death. He grabbed Scott with one hand and Stephen with another, who held on tight until he could grab a hold of the ship. "Hang onto Antonio, will ya?"

The ship now secured, Tony took a couple of breaths to compose himself. "How'd I do?"

"Was not expecting that..." Clint nodded his approval. "Now, can you get us out of this thing?"

"What's the magic word?" Tony quipped. At Natasha's glare, he freed her first. "Everyone good?" He pried the box concealing Scott open, who immediately grew back to normal size.

"What the hell happened?" Scott breathed.

"We're on our way to Thanos..." Stephen looked out the window, nothing but stars zooming past them. They all gathered around. "This cannot be good...I should've stayed behind in the Sanctum..."

"It's fine..." Tony brushed off. "He won't be expecting us, and there's enough of us to surprise him..."

"You're not wanting to turn back?" Clint raised his eyebrow. "I mean, there's only five of us..."

"And only one of him with...how many stones? Two?"

"And it's the Space Stone...and the Power Stone..." Stephen drawled.

"Of course it is..." Natasha rolled her eyes. "So, what's your plan?"

"Uh, finding out who the hell _they_ are?" Scott pointed out to the right with a spaceship coming right towards him. "And how we're going to land this thing?!"

Before them, their destination was coming in a lot faster than anticipated.

"Great, ok, guys take that control, we got this one." Tony ordered. "We're one big Transformer, ok, so we gotta steer together!"

"Are we going your right or my right?"

"Scott!"

"Right..."

They managed to not crash, per se, but land roughly on the barren planet of the home of Thanos, the great Titan.

* * *

Steve and Bruce got a call from the compound, and Peter's worried face showed up.

"Peter, what's wrong? Are you ok?" Steve asked.

"I just talked to King T'challa..." Peter started. "They're trying to take the stone out of Vision's head, but-" His searched between and around them. "Where's Dad?"

"He's bringing everyone back home..." Steve promised. "Bruce, how did Thanos know where we were? Cause if he knew where to hit us here, then what's to say he doesn't go for Wakanda next?"

Bruce thought a moment. "I have no idea...but, yeah, while we wait on the others to get back, we better head over there now and help them...Thanos cannot get all of the stones..."

Steve nodded. "Peter, we're going to Wakanda. You need to stay there, and have FRIDAY put the place on full lockdown, understand?"

"The Barn Door Protocol?" Peter asked.

"Yes, and you do not open that door for _any_ reason. Go down underground and hang out in the garage until we get back. Can you do that for me?" Steve said.

Peter nodded. "FRIDAY?"

" _Barn Door Protocol Activated. Lockdown in progress._ "

They watched Peter look around him as it darkened with security measures in place.

"Ok...good luck, Pops..."

"Thank-you, Peter...I love you..."

"Love you, too..." Peter hung up.

Steve and Bruce stared at the monitor for a second.

"Let's get going..."

They fired up the engines and headed for Wakanda.


	23. Chapter 23

Arriving back to Wakanda, Steve and Bruce were led by T'challa to a room where Shuri was working on Vision. Wanda was restlessly watching, biting her lip.

"Steve?" Wanda came up and gave him a hug. "What's going on?"

"We...got separated...I shouldn't have-"

"Steve, don't do that..." Bruce said. "Look, it's just a minor setback, but between Tony and Stephen, they're too stubborn to not get back home."

"What?" Wanda asked again.

"They're...in space...not sure where..." Bruce answered timidly. "See, Thanos sent his 'children' after the Time Stone, so they captured Stephen, but Clint, Nat, and Scott are with them, so they'll be fine..."

"You don't sound too sure..." Wanda cut her eyes to the table Vision was being operated on. "And now they're coming here?"

"Not to worry...Wakanda has never been breached before...you will have my king's guard and the border tribe as protection. _Nothing_ gets in without my say so." T'challa promised.

Steve's heart was racing, his mind coming to a blank...he was panicking. Bruce saw it, so he took control. It was the least he could do, since he was useless in the defense department.

"Wanda, you stay here, protect Vision so you can buy them some time..." He said. "Your highness, how's my suit?"

"Ready for battle, Doctor Banner." T'challa nodded. He turned to his sister. "How much time do you need?"

"As much as you can give me...I'm working as fast as I can..." Shuri murmured, feeling the pressure.

"We'll give it to you..." T'challa said. "General: evacuate the city, engage all defenses. Prepare for war."

* * *

"Who the hell are you?" Tony asked, after being attacked by the weirdest group he had ever seen.

"We're the Guardians of the freaking Galaxy..." The human said, who had Bucky at gunpoint. "This little twirp tried to be sneaky outside, but I'm too smooth for his little spy act."

"God, you're relentless..." Bucky groaned. He head-butted the man, and elbowed him in the gut.

"Glad you're on our side..." Scott sighed. He looked up at the shirtless man holding him in his fist. "I'm guessing you're taking us to Thanos, huh?"

"Why would we take you to Thanos? We are trying to save Gamora..." The man said to Scott, confused.

"Yeah, we're not with Thanos...what gave you that dumb idea?" The other man said, rubbing his head.

"I don't know, maybe it was the fact that you've been tailing us for who knows how long, then suddenly attacked us." Tony said irritated.

"Ok, clearly, we have a common enemy, so can we let bygones be bygones?" Stephen held his hands out.

"Sounds too complicated...how can we say goodbye to gones? I'm Drax the Destroyer, by the way." He dropped Scott, who grew back to normal size.

"Hi, I'm Scott. Thanks for not squishing me."

"You're welcome...it's amazing how fast you can grow."

"It's science."

"I don't understand..."

"Anyway...I'm Starlord. That's Drax. Here's Mantis."

"Hiiiii...it's nice to meet everyone..." The lady with the antennas said.

"Now that we're all friends, can we get a move on with Thanos? He's already got the Power Stone..." Natasha said.

"And the Reality Stone...and the Space Stone..." Starlord finished.

Everyone froze.

"We're in trouble..." Clint said.

"Not necessarily..." Tony thought. "We still have the element of surprise...he's expecting you, right, Doc?"

"Unfortunately..." Stephen answered. "So, I'm bate?"

"Yes, an excellent distraction for us to ambush him, and yank that gauntlet off. Easy as pie." Tony said.

"I like your plan, but it would be better if it didn't suck, so I was thinking-" As Starlord droned on, basically repeating the plan, but in more complicating ways, the Avengers stood dumbfounded at the amount of stupidity that was in this group.

"Wow..." Tony said. "All right, Mr. Lord, if you'll lead the way..."

"It's _Star_ lord, ok?"

"Let's hope this works, cause I'm having doubts..." Bucky sighed. "What a bunch of assholes..."

"How dare you? I am no such thing..." Drax stared Bucky down.

"Way to go, Snowy..." Tony patted him on the back.

* * *

Thanos entered Titan through a portal, eyes peering out for anything. Looking straight ahead, he smiled.

There it was...the Time Stone.

"Oh, yeah...you're much more of a Thanos..." Stephen sat calmly on some rubble, tossing a stone, bored.

Thanos eyed the Stone around his neck. "I take it that Maw is dead..." Stephen nodded. "This day extracts a heavy toll." He slowly approached the Sorcerer Supreme. "Still, he accomplished his mission."

"You may regret that..." Stephen threatened. "He brought you face to face with the Master of the Mystic Arts..."

"And where do you think he brought you?" Thanos asked.

"Let me guess..." Stephen looked up, seeing Tony and Starlord, silently asking for a little more time. "Your home?"

Thanos looked down. "It was..." He revealed the Reality Stone, shining brightly, casting an illusion of what was before. "And it was beautiful." Before their eyes, the planet transformed. "Titan was like most planets...too many mouths, not enough to go around...and when we faced extinction, I offered a solution."

"Genocide?" Stephen said.

"At random." Thanos said simply. "Passionless, fair to rich and poor alike. They called me a mad man..." He grew solemn. "And what I predicted came to pass." The illusion disappeared, Titan's fate revealed once again.

"Congratulations, you're a prophet." Stephen said, no sympathy, with a bite to it.

"I'm a survivor." Thanos defended.

"Who wants to murder trillions."

"With all six stones, I could simply snap my fingers..." Thanos snapped his free hand. "They would all cease to exist. I call that... _mercy_."

Stephen stood up, and took a few steps forward. "Then what?"

"I finally rest...and watch the sun rise on a grateful universe." Thanos bowed his head. "The hardest choices require the strongest wills."

Stephen moved his hands. "I think you will find our will..." He shifted them. "Equal..." He prepared to attack. "To yours..."

"Our?" Thanos asked.


	24. Chapter 24

"We gotta get us one of those..." Bruce peered through the helmet of the Hulkbuster to see the force field surround Wakanda.

The troops moved out, and Wanda watched nervously as the other side appeared with a terrifying looking woman and man with awful weapons. She could feel the Mind Stone growing anxious...those weapons were meant for Vision.

"How are we looking?" She tears her eyes away from Steve and T'challa approaching the edge of the force field to confront them.

"Nearly there...I am so sorry..." Shuri's fingers were precise, but not too quick, her focus never wavering.

"Don't worry..." Wanda grabbed Vision's hand. He squeezed back. "I'll protect you..."

"I am Proxima Midnight...this is Corvus Glaive...you have killed our brothers...and you will pay with your meaningless lives." The woman threatened.

"You are in Wakanda now..." T'challa did not stir. "Thanos will have nothing but dust and blood here."

"Give up the Stone, and we leave." Proxima demanded.

"Not gonna happen." Steve boldly spoke. Corvus glared at him.

Proxima threw her weapon into the air, signaling the army to come forward.

And it did.

T'challa and Steve ran back up to their own army.

"Did they surrender?" Bruce asked wearily.

"Not exactly..." Steve answered.

Before their eyes, monsters with multiple appendages and bulging muscles charged forward, trying to enter Wakanda. The force field held. But that did not stop them.

"They are killing themselves..." Okoye said, horrified.

Proxima stared Steve and T'challa down, a wicked grin on her face.

"YIBAMBE!" T'challa shouted.

"YIBAMBE!" The army of Wakanda repeated.

Sam and Rhodey took off, taking care of the aliens that made it through the perimeter. Bruce started shooting them one by one. Soon, they started circling the perimeter.

"We can't let them sneak in behind us, they'll get to Vision..." Bruce said.

"Then we better keep them in front of us." Steve said.

"How are we going to do that?" Okoye asked.

T'challa made the call. "On my signal, open Section Northwest 17th..."

" _Requesting confirmation, my King, but you said to open the northwest barrier?_ "

"On my signal..." T'challa repeated.

"This will be the end of Wakanda..." M'Baku said, fear in his voice.

"Then it will be the noblest end in history." Okoye said, determined.

T'challa stepped forward as the creatures kept sprinting towards them. Adrenaline was coursing through his veins. He took a breath. "WAKANDA FOREVER!" Crossing his arms, claws out, his helmet appeared, and he charged forward, leading his people to battle.

* * *

"For the record, this was _my_ plan." Starlord boasted.

Natasha grunted, wondering how this idiot could even function, much less survive this long. She dug her widow bites into the crook of Thanos' elbow, perched on top of his shoulder.

Mantis was dropped from a portal onto Thanos' head, trying to put him to sleep. "Please, hurry. He is very strong..."

Tony and Clint had a hold of the gauntlet, desperately trying to pull it off. Scott and Drax had the other arm.

"Not so strong, now, huh?" Starlord taunted. "Where's Gamora?"

Thanos groaned. " _Mmmy Gamora_..."

"Oh, _bullshit_." He got right in the Titan's face. "Where is she?"

"He is in anguish." Mantis started to cry.

"Oh, good." Starlord was satisfied, watching him suffer.

"He...he mourns..." Mantis said.

"What does this, monster have to mourn?" Drax asked, huffing.

"Tony, he's got another stone in here..." Clint observed.

Tony looked down. "The Soul Stone?" He noticed Starlord was getting upset. "Okay, Quill, you gotta cool it now, understand?" He did not reply...he just stared at Thanos. "Don't..." _Make the same mistake I did._ "Don't..." _Please, don't be like me._ "Don't engage. We almost got this thing off!" _Way to be the one with the level head now..._

"What happened to her?" Starlord said. "She's _not here_. Where is she?"

"IIIII haaaaad tooooo..." Thanos answered.

"No, you didn't..." Starlord fumed. "NO, YOU DIDN'T!" He started hitting Thanos over the head. He did not hear everyone screaming at him to stop. He did not hear Thanos snap out of Mantis' trance, nor see him throw her off to the side like a rag doll. All he knew was Thanos killed Gamora.

All hell broke loose.

Tony charged head on, and was appalled to see Thanos pull a moon out of orbit...a _moon_...and it came raining down on them like the largest meteor shower he had ever seen. It was a nightmare. Everyone ran for cover, except for Tony, who got squished by a piece of moon, and Stephen Strange, who used almost everything he had to stand up to Thanos.

Tony recovered just in time to save Stephen's life. "You throw another moon at me, and I'm gonna lose it..."

" _Stark._ " Thanos spat.

Tony's gut twisted. "You know me?"

"I do..." The Soul Stone shined. "You're not the only one cursed with knowledge."

"My only curse is you." And genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist Tony Stark fought the most powerful being in the universe. He did not give in, nor slow down, until he was stabbed, and his whole world started spinning.


	25. Chapter 25

"Tony?" Natasha sprinted towards him, but was thrown back by Thanos.

"Nat!" Clint went to her aid. "Hey, stay still for a sec, ok?"

Thanos gently pushed Tony's head up to look him in the eye. "You have my respect, Stark." _After all, he made a god bleed._ "When I'm done, half of humanity will still be alive..." Stepping back, he looked at his worthy opponent, a mere human, capable of so much. He almost envied him. "I hope they remember you." He said respectfully.

Shining all four Infinity Stones, Tony coughing up blood, and everyone else staring in horror at the scene before them, a voice cried out, "Stop!"

Thanos turned to see Stephen Strange panting. "Spare his life, and I'll give you the stone..."

"No more tricks wizard..." Thanos warned.

"I have none left..." Stephen reached up, and a star in the sky came between his fingertips, revealing itself to be the Time Stone. He let go of it, and it floated over to the Mad Titan.

Thanos caught it, and hesitated for a moment, waiting for the Sorcerer Supreme to attack, but when he did not, he dropped the Stone in its rightful place. Even more power surged through him, and he reveled in it.

"One to go..." He said triumphantly, and disappeared through a portal.

"Tony..." Scott ran up to him to check on his wound.

Tony gasped, spraying an icy substance to close the wound, to stop the bleeding. He took a minute to compose himself. He saw Clint walk Natasha over.

"Where's Bucky?" He asked. No one knew.

"Here is your one-armed friend..." Drax helped the former assassin over, and everyone gasped.

Bucky was doubling over in pain, shaking, as the only arm he had left was slung over Drax, who had in his hand Bucky's prosthetic. He felt sick, like he was about to throw up, and he had a flashback to Siberia, and that made it worse.

Tony's mind went there as well. And it was his fault again for not stopping this before they all got here.

_Dammit, Stark, you've done it again..._

"Barnes, come here..." He tried to stand up, and almost collapsed, when Stephen caught him and led him to Bucky. "Let's take a look..."

There was a few burns, but he was not bleeding, so that was a good sign. Tony looked to Stephen, the only medical professional they had, and he nodded. He held his gauntlet above the arm socket.

"I'm not gonna lie, this may hurt, cause I need to get some of this vibranium off before I apply this to let you heal ok?" Tony did not feel like he deserved to ask this question, but..."Do you trust me?"

Bucky nodded. "Make it quick."

He grunted a bit, but for the most part, it was not that bad, and the cool frost felt amazing. He collapsed to his knees, and Drax sat down with him, laying the arm in Bucky's lap.

"Is everyone else ok?" Scott looked around, seeing everyone beat up, but shooken up more than anything.

Starlord flew over in a rush. "Did we just lose?" He saw the devastation, and no one answered.

"Why did you do it, Doc?" Tony wondered. They were all thinking it. The point was to keep Thanos away from all of the Stones, but to give one up just like that? They were so close to losing now.

"We're in the Endgame now..." Stephen spoke up. Thunder rolled in the distance.

* * *

Thor landed in Wakanda, and Steve Stark-Rogers never felt hope before like he did now. It gave him the strength he needed to keep fighting. Maybe there was a way to get Tony and everyone back.

But his stomach dropped later when _he_ showed up.

"Cap..." Bruce said. "That's him..."

Thanos towered over the scene. He never said a word. He just calmly walked forward, towards Vision and Wanda.

"It's all right..." Vision kept saying to Wanda. "I love you..."

Wanda cried as she went to destroy the Mind Stone, no, to _kill Vision_. Because that was what it felt like.

"Stay sharp...give her time..." Steve charged forward.

It was useless...the Infinity Stones were powerful. No one could touch Thanos.

Steve leaped forward to intercept him after being thrown off. He grabbed onto the golden gauntlet with both hands, using all of his remaining strength to keep Thanos down. Thanos stared at him, this mere human...the Soul Stone showed him who he was, and Thanos punched the man away, not enough to kill him, because someone had to carry on Stark's legacy.

He approached Wanda, or at least tried to, as he fought her off. He was impressed with her as well. How could he be mad? She destroyed an _Infinity Stone_ , killing who she loved the most...

"I understand my child..." He comforted her.

Wanda looked up defiantly. "You could never..."

The next few moments were a blur. One moment, Thanos reversed time, taking what he needed. The next, he was feeling the power of _all six Stones_...He blinked, and found an axe buried in his chest.

There was that Asgardian again. These Avengers...were a lot more troublesome now than ever before...

"You should have gone for the _head_..." Thanos smiled at him, and snapped.

Despite all of the defiance...he had finally won.


	26. Chapter 26

Natasha, Clint, Scott, and Tony froze in horror as everyone around them turned to dust, as if they were never there.

"What's...why...um..." Scott was petrified. They all were.

Tony finally got out of his head, Stephen's final words haunting him.

_We're in the Endgame, now..._

Grunting in pain from the soreness of the slowly healing wound, they all looked to him for an answer.

"We need to get out of here..." His voice cracked, wanting to get as far away from here as possible. They all silently followed him to the Guardians ship. "I can figure this out, you guys just hang tight." He mumbled. He prayed there was enough fuel to get them home.

Home.

What sort of disaster was waiting for them there?

* * *

_How could it have come to this? We just got back to something..._

Steve fell back off his knees after staring into Vision's vacant eyes, covered in dust...from Wanda...

They were all gone.

Timid, but heavy footsteps came up behind him, and he turned to see Bruce, who must have clawed his way out of the wall Thanos sealed the Hulkbuster into.

"Steve?" Bruce's eyes were wide with shock, and they scanned to stop on another figure. "Thor?"

The God of Thunder, thought to have been dead all of this time, hovered over his axe, covered in Thanos' blood. He was still as a statue.

_You should have gone for the heeeeeeeead..._

"Oh God..." Steve finally spoke. "What do we do now?" He looked up to Bruce.

"I...I don't know, um..." Bruce saw defeat in Steve's eyes. He had never seen that before in the young soldier. Little did he know, this was not the first time Steve had lost.

_Can we ever catch a break around here? What about Peter-_

Both men seemed to have the same thought, and they bolted to the Quinjet, praying for a miracle.

"FRIDAY? FRIDAY!" Bruce booted the system up.

" _Doctor Banner? Still no sign of Mr. Stark. I lost signal right after he left the atmosphere. I'm sorry..._ "

"Ok, just let us know as soon as he gets back..." _If he gets back..._

"FRIDAY, where's Peter?" Steve asked, terrified at the slight pause.

"..."

"FRIDAY?" Steve's voice cracked.

" _He was here, but_ -"

Steve never heard the rest of the explanation. It was probably the same thing that happened to T'challa, most of the remaining soldiers that were alive, presumably Sam, Rhodey, that little tree friend of Thor's, Wanda...

So. Many. People. Gone.

Without a thought...hardly a moment to say goodbye.

For the second time that day, Steve slumped into a chair with horrible news. He had no idea what to do next.

Steve just prayed for a miracle...


	27. Chapter 27

The spaceship barely made it back to Earth as they unceremoniously crashed into the field at the compound.

"Well, we can check that off the bucket list..." Tony tried for some humor, but it did not quite hit the mark. Natasha gave him a small smile for the effort.

Bruce was standing outside. When he saw them come out one by one, he stuck his head back inside shouting. Suddenly a blur ran past him and stopped halfway to the ship.

"Steve?" Tony did not know if he could handle another heartbreaking reunion, but here they were.

Defeated again.

"Tony..." Steve yanked him into a hug, crying.

But Tony already saw the tear-stained face before the soldier buried his head into the genius' aching shoulders.

"Please..."

"I...Tony..."

"No..." Tony felt numb. For the second time this year, he hated himself more than he could have ever thought imaginable. "No..."

"You mean?" Clint looked to Bruce for answers, who sadly shook his head.

"We...we found Dummy...sweeping up-"

Natasha's heart broke, and she started to shake with anger and despair. She turned into Clint's chest for comfort, as he himself could not hide the defeat on his face.

Scott sunk to his knees, relieved yes, to be back on Earth, but the thought of everyone that died.

"Bucky's gone too...I'm so sorry..." Tony whispered.

Steve's breath hitched. He was not sure he could take anymore.

A crack of thunder alerted them it was time to go inside.

"I'll go check on him..." Bruce led the way. At everyone's confused looks, he confirmed. "Yeah, Thor's back..."

They were all so devastated, it did not even help make them feel any better, save for the tiniest bit of relief.

* * *

"Hey, pal..." Bruce had two cups of coffee in his hand, one with extra sugar and creamer to offer his friend.

Thor did not even flinch.

"Listen...I'm sorry about your brother. We were all wrong about him from the beginning. In the end, he showed his true colors..."

"My brother always had good in him...he was just emotional sometimes, but..." Thunder rumbled in the distance. "Thanos made him a tortured soul...the more I think about it, the more it all makes sense. He was a slave to the Mind Stone..." The god turned and stared at Bruce. "Thanos tortured and manipulated him, controlled him to attack this planet...do you know what color my brother's eyes are?"

"Uh...I thought they were green, right?" Bruce recalled.

"When the Chitauri attacked, they were _blue_..."

"The color of Loki's staff...mind control..." It was all coming together for Bruce. "That's why he left the staff for us to stop Thanos."

"That's why he saved my life countless times...that's why he was always a hero, the good man I always knew he was...but no one else could see it, but our mother..." Thor let tears fall, but by then it was raining, so it was hard to tell.

"Thor, I'm sorry..." Bruce yet again blamed himself. "I lost to Thanos, and because of that, Loki died...it scared me...no one had _ever_ defeated the Hulk like that. It was too easy for him..."

"Do not blame yourself, Banner..." Thor looked up at the sky. "Thanos was always a problem, we just never knew about it till it was too late."

"Yeah, question is...now what? He...he won, he killed half the universe..."

"I almost had him..." Thor was beating himself up again.

"Don't do that...Thor, look at me...I know we were all scattered, and things did not go according to plan, but, hey, look at me. This was not your fault. _We_ lost. We thought we were ready, but we weren't. And now we've gotta find Thanos, and get the Stones back, and reverse all of this."

"Sounds easy enough..." Thor said doubtedly.

"Simple concept...with a complicated execution." Bruce shivered. "Come on, let's get out of here. The others are wanting to see you."

"I have missed them as well..." Thor went inside with Bruce as the storm outside raged on, mirroring the torment in his once-again broken heart.


	28. Chapter 28

Nobody really spoke to each other, save for a few quiet greetings to Thor, who hugged each and every one of them.

"Come on, Point Break, I've got a room for ya..." Tony led him to the end of the hall across from his room.

"Thank-you, my friend..." That was the last they heard from him for a while.

After taking a long, steamy shower, Tony collapsed onto the bed, screaming and crying into the pillows.

His son died alone...

"I'm so sorry, Peter..." Tony mumbled.

Strong arms lifted his torso up and into a warm, comforting embrace. His head was massaged, and it did help calm the nerves even more than the shower did. But Steve was really good at that.

Tony felt jerks and gazed up to see Steve was crying, trying to hide it to stay strong for him.

"I'm sorry, Tony...I couldn't stop him..." Steve was beating himself up, everyone was, really.

"Babe, look at me...we're not doing this again, ok? _We_ lost. But you know what? What did you always tell me, with Ultron, with the Chitauri? How did you say we were going to come out on top?"

"Together..."

"...And if we lose?" Tony kissed his forehead. "Well, we're doing this together, too..."

Steve hugged Tony tighter, and they eventually fell asleep tangled up in each other, wondering what in the world they were going to do next.

* * *

" _Boss? Senator Ross is on the property again..._ " FRIDAY was just going to ignore the messages, but it was getting relentless, and by her calculations, if an AI did something without Stark's say-so, then who knows what kind of legal mess the Avengers would find themselves.

"Dammit!" Tony was wide awake and pissed now. Any other day, he would love to deal with that bastard, but why now?

"Tony?"

"Wanna tag along? Might need an extra set of fists..." Tony stalked outside in his robe, messy hair, glad to look the part to make this meeting seem as inconvenient as possible.

"Gonna sleep all day, Mr. Stark, while the world is in chaos?" Senator Ross mouthed.

" _Half of the universe is dead_ , and you wanna come at me like that?"

"The Avengers were not authorized to engage with the alien invasion, and the damage done was quite extensive."

"Oh, send me the bill! Fuck you, you piece of shit! My son is dead, and this world would have been _flattened_ if it weren't for us stepping in."

"I thought we had come to an agreement-"

"That you were not a part of!" Tony interrupted.

"We decided with everyone that in the event of a global emergency, we could engage as soon as possible, and file our reports after it was resolved..." Steve explained calmly.

"Well, then I suggest you get off your asses, and get to work, then..." Ross turned to leave, and he smiled when he heard Steve hold Tony back from decking him where he stood.

"I'm gonna kill him, I swear..." Tony said under his breath.

"I know..." Steve did not argue this time.


	29. Chapter 29

It took all day, but with all of the legalities finally taken care of, everyone that was left of the Avengers returned home, feeling more drained than the night before.

"Welcome home..." Thor politely raised a glass of scotch he had just poured himself.

They were relieved to find him willing to socialize.

"Pour me one..." Natasha pulled some shot glasses out of the cabinet and slid them across the table. Thor obliged.

"Well, I don't know which is worse, Thanos or the UN..." Bruce downed his shot in an instant, Thor pouring him another without question.

"Our focus can now be on those Stones..." Steve said tiredly, but firmly. "FRIDAY, anything?"

" _No, we've got jack_ shit!" Rocket, the only surviving member of the Guardians of the Galaxy, hopped up onto the table. "Give me some of that..." He snatched up Thor's glass and poured himself a shot. "No sign of any universe-altering snaps other than the one we just witnessed." He gulped down his drink, making a bitter face. "You humans have some nasty alcohol..."

"FRIDAY?" Tony asked again.

" _I'm sorry, Boss, but I'm still searching, now that your new friend has programmed in intergalactic range for me to work with._ "

"Ok, keep up the good work. Now..." Tony raised his glass. "Anyone wanna start talking about their feel-" He choked, running off, embarrassed that he had started crying.

"Excuse me..." Steve set down his full glass, going after him.

Scott took Steve's drink and downed it. "What are we going to do?"

"We're going to find that bastard and make him pay!" Rocket threw a punch into his other hand, rubbing them together angrily.

" _There is someone at the door, asking to come in..._ " FRIDAY announced.

"If it's Ross, I might finally Hulk out..." Bruce groaned.

They all went to the TV in the living room, FRIDAY pulling up live feed of the front door outside. A woman dressed in blue, red, and gold was standing outside. She looked straight at them.

"Where's Fury?"

"She knows Fury?" Clint raised a suspicious eyebrow.

Natasha went to the comm link. "And who are you?"

"I'm Carol Danvers, former US Air Force. I'm looking for Fury. He sent for me, and this was all I could find." She held up an old pager, the symbol on the message almost matching her crest on her uniform exactly.

"I think we can trust her..." Thor said. They all looked at him unsure. "What? I thought Fury didn't have many friends, and we got rid of HYDRA, so..."

"And she did say she was Air Force...it checks out..." Clint had her bio pulled up on a computer, courtesy of FRIDAY. "But, it says she died back in '89..."

"Well, clearly, she's not a ghost." Scott points out. "Maybe..."

"Eh, I can always test out my detonator I made with your toaster, so I say, let her in..." Rocket shrugged.

"I-I'll go, get the door..." Bruce nervously let this stranger in. "Hi...I'm Bruce..."

"Hi, Bruce...I'm Carol..." Carol politely shook his hand, but kept walking towards the group of nervous Avengers huddled in the room. "You must be the Avengers?"

"What gave it away?" Rocket did not look up, as he was messing with his detonator.

"Here is Fury's pager I amped up for him. I've held onto it for the past twenty years or so, in case there was...an emergency...I found it in the middle of a deserted road. But..."

"Half of the universe is gone...wiped out..." Clint explained.

"What?"

"Thanos came for all of the Infinity Stones..." Thor went on.

"So...where is he?"

"We don't know..." Tony answered, eyes puffy, but curious to see who the newcomer was.

"Well, I might know some people who can find out..."

" _That won't be necessary, Miss Danvers. I have locked a signal on this planet._ " FRIDAY pulled up a hologram. They all gathered around to see where it was.

"The Garden..." Carol recognized it.

"Oh, so Thanos thought he could just retire after killing everyone..." Rocket mumbled.

"Ok...it was nice meeting you all. Don't worry. I'll get everyone back." Carol started to leave when Thor stepped in front of her.

"Now, hold on, we've got beef with him too...we should all go together. With all six Infinity Stones, even Stormbreaker couldn't stop him." Thor held his hand out, Carol staring at him. Her hair whipped with the gust of wind as the axe was summoned. She did not even flinch. "I like this one. You in?"

"All right..." She smirked. "Lord of Thunder..."

Thor rolled his eyes. "That bastard..."


	30. Chapter 30

Thanos woke up on the third day after saving the universe with a smile on his face. The wildlife was flourishing in this paradise he had come to find home.

To be honest, he was still aching in his chest, despite the stones trying to heal him automatically. As soon as he arrived onto this planet, he had attempted to taking the burning metal off, but he could not. It was seared into his skin. But the Infinity Stones...they remained as they were...untouched, still powerful.

Still dangerous.

 _A small price to pay..._ He would keep telling himself. It was worth it, to be able to live to see and enjoy this. He had not expected to survive, but it was yet another blessing to be thankful for.

The Titan went to go check on the garden he had started the day before. It was the perfect season for it, and although he was unfamiliar with The Garden, he quickly grew to love this place. He was surprised to see fruits had already ripened. He limped back up the stairs for his bag, and began to gather the fruit. As he put on a pot to boil, he collapsed into his chair, exhausted.

It was going to take a while to heal.

But, if this new stranger that had been watching him the entire time was willing to wait this long, well, then so was he...

* * *

A crash from above alerted him of intruders, and before he knew it, he was strained by three Avengers. In walked in the rest...

Perfect...

A shout from Thor, and the arm with the gauntlet fell to the ground with a thud.

They stood there in shock, despite thinking they had the upper hand when the Titan laughed at the dismembered limb.

_Did you really think it would be that easy?_

Their stomachs dropped as Thanos' real voice echoed in the tiny hut. Red engulfed the gauntlet, it disappearing to reveal a stone floor. Thanos' body disappeared, that smile the last thing they saw. Before their eyes, a palace appeared all around them.

_You could not live with your own failure...and where did that bring you?_

The real Thanos appeared before them, sitting on a throne like a king, the real Infinity Gauntlet shining like brand new.

"Back to me..." He smiled, enjoying seeing the looks on their faces.

Thunder cracked outside as Thor boiled with anger.

"Can we have a moment...please?" Thanos held the God of Thunder still, frozen in time.

"Did we have a Plan B?" Tony whispered to Steve.

Steve gulped. "Not. Really."

"Is there something I can do for you?" Thanos asked, head tilted, truly curious as to why they would be idiotic enough to come bother him. "After all, I did you a favor. Got rid of the last HYDRA agent you apparently missed a few years back. You're welcome."

"You murdered trillions!" Bruce shouted.

"To save the universe!" Thanos shot back. "I did that! How can you be so ungrateful? So selfish..." He shook his head. "You disappoint me...I thought, I was surprised when you stood up to me six years ago. I was not expecting such spite from mere humans...and a god with more problems than I can count..." Thor inwardly winced, as he was still held by the Stone's power. "And who are you?"

"Your new problem." Carol lit up like a super nova and flew forward to attack.

Thanos easily blocked her, then held her up by her neck, examining her.

 _Shit! Think, Stark, what are we going to do?_ Tony looked around, seeing everyone frozen with fear, unsure of what was about to happen.


	31. Chapter 31

Carol was thrown back, vanishing into a portal, and reality warped again around the rest of the Avengers.

_People were screaming, running for cover. A roar from the Hulk could be heard in the distance._

_"When the Earth starts to settle, God throws a stone at it, and believe me, he's winding up."_

_Tony and Steve attacked each other_ _viciously, blind with rage and betrayal. Bucky lay almost motionless._

_"An empire toppled by its enemies can rise again. But one which crumbles from within? That's dead... forever."_

_The sky opened with the Chitauri causing mass mayhem and destruction._

_"Freedom... Freedom is life's great lie. Once you accept that, in your heart... Loki puts the scepter to Selvig... Stellan Skarsgård... You will know peace."_

"Now..." Thanos brought them out of their trance from the Mind Stone. They were all shaky, still staring off into their dark past. "You have been reminded of your failures. And I will reiterate to you again, that unlike you, I have succeeded in my quest to save the universe. I will give you one last chance to stand down, return home, and be thankful for this universe's newfound safety."

Tony spit at the floor before Thanos' feet. 

"I've seen your future, Stark..." Thanos shrugged. "You might want to reconsider your next step."

Tony's eyes cut to the Time Stone glowing, and could not help but let his mind wander for a split second what that could mean. "You already tore my future away from me..." His voice shook. "Bring them back now...or else..."

Thanos laughed, shaking his head. "Very well-"

Chitauri and Outriders growled and surrounded the Avengers, Thanos remaining calmly in his chair.

"Ok...everyone ready?" Rocket charged his gun that was almost twice his size.

"As ready as I'll ever be..." Bruce asked one more time for the Hulk to come out, but when he was buried three feet under with monsters tearing up the Hulkbuster,

Everyone, Avengers included, were thrown back by a shockwave of metal pieces flying everywhere, and the halls seem to shake with the roar of the Incredible Hulk's mighty return to the world.

"Hahaaaaa! YEEEEEEEEEEES!" Thor cheered his friend on as the Hulk unleashed so much pent up rage that he had not seen since they battled Ultron. Not even fighting Fenris or Surtur, had the Hulk been this enraged. And this was in their favor.

Thanos stood up, seeing the odds tip towards their favor. " _Enough!_ " Enemies disappeared, and the Avengers stood in shock. The Hulk grunted towards the Titan, pounding his chest. "Ready for another round?" He smiled.

"Fall back!" Steve shouted, and everyone else ran to the far side of the hall.

The Hulk charged Thanos, and fists collided in an epic fight.

"He's not using the Stones..." Tony pointed out in horror. Bruce had told him that Thanos may not have defeated the Hulk with or without the Power Stone, he was not sure, but hearing that story of the Hulk being knocked out scared them, because that had never happened. Tony did it himself one time, but it took everything, and leveling a city to do so.

"Thor???" Steve was about to ask if he could possibly help, but this was such a nasty fight, he could not ask his friend to try to help.

"I can try, but I may hit him..." Thunder roared up above. "But he can take it..." His eyes lit up with Stormbreaker as the ceiling above the throne room collapsed from a lightning bolt, and the Avengers shielded themselves as best they could from the devastating blow.

But the momentum of their rematch never slowed. Both participating parties were just letting off a little smoke, but Clint noticed something.

"Cap!" He leaped over some rubble and crouched down so he could be heard. "He's bleeding..." They all looked to see a cut near the base of the gauntlet on his forearm. 

Steve looked to Tony, who nodded, then turned to Thor.

"Let's end this..." Thor leaped over and charged the two fighters, the Hulk hesitating slightly, allowing Thanos to punch him across the room. As he crashed into the wall, Thanos looked up to see Thor coming down with Stormbreaker again, but threw his arm up to block the blow. When the weapon hit the same material, though, Thanos used the opportunity to his advantage, and the Power Stone threw Thor back through the stone walls behind him.

"Shit..." Tony's mind raced again for another plan, when another sound grabbed their attention.

Carol shot through the open ceiling, taking on the Titan.

"Back so soon?" Thanos asked as they fought.

"You won't get the chance again..." She dodged his next attack and flew her legs around onto the Titan's back, and had him in a chokehold.

"New plan! Now!" Tony flew over, the others hesitating for a split second, but followed anyway.

This was their one chance.

_Come on. 14,000,605._

Thanos tried to close his fist, but Steve and Tony held his fingers open. Carol kept her grip, and Scott shrunk down and kicked behind Thanos' knee, dropping him down. 

Thor came upon the scene, and Tony wished this time, things would be different. The God of Thunder did not hesitate this time. Stormbreaker swung, and the gauntlet fell. Rocket ran several feet back with it, keeping it out of reach.

Thanos cried out in pain, then grunted as Carol let go of him. Thor approached the one-armed threat.

"You kill...and you call yourself a god...you're not worthy of such a title." Thanos laughed. "And you killed my brother."

"That _snake_ deserved far worse...I had no time for his torture..."

"I told you...you'd die for that..." Thor swung, and Thanos' head dropped, rolling on the floor.

There was a moment of silence, not for the last Titan, but for the shock of it all to wear off. Bruised and bloodied, they all formed around the gauntlet, staring at it. Blood oozed out from it. The place smelt of death, and it made them all sick.

"Let's go home...we'll bring them back..." Tony said. He knelt down, and Steve jerked him back.

"Don't you dare..." He whispered.

"Cool it, Cap...just packaging it up..." Nano bites peeled off from Iron Man's armor and surrounded the the gauntlet in full. 

Thor tore his cape off and wrapped it around again, picking it up. He did not say a word, but just walked off, everyone silently following him back to the ship.


End file.
